Online therapy and psychiatry: ad compliance rules and checker

Rules that matter for Online therapy and psychiatry ads

  • Never assert or imply the viewer has a mental health condition.

    Ads must not assert or imply personal attributes of the viewer, including medical conditions, mental health, age or financial status. 'You' is allowed when it does not reference a personal attribute.

    Policy source

  • No outcome or timeline claims.

    Health benefit or safety claims need competent and reliable scientific evidence, generally randomized controlled human clinical testing. Testimonials and expert endorsements do not replace substantiation.

    Policy source

  • No crisis or self-harm content in ads; include crisis resources on the landing page, not in the ad.

Check your ad copy

Set to this category. Flagged lines show the rule and its source; fewer flags means less risk of a closer review, not approval.

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This is general information about platform policies, not legal advice. Check the current policy before you run ads.

When an ad or an ad account is restricted

Prescription categories get more rejections than most, so plan for review before launch. Meta says its ad review system is designed to review all ads before they go live and relies primarily on automated technology, and that "both machines and people make mistakes." It uses a warning-based system for repeated or egregious violations of its Advertising Standards, and you can appeal a warning by requesting a review of the rejected ads that led to it.

If a Meta ad account is restricted, only an admin on the account can request a review. Meta says the review is typically completed in 48 hours, that the decision is final once it is done, and that ads running before the restriction are not restarted automatically.

TikTok says most ads are reviewed within 24 hours, though some take longer. Its Account Health status updates daily, and a Restricted status means some features are limited because of persistent violations.

Google suspends accounts without prior warning for the violations it calls egregious, including unauthorized pharmacies. For its Prescription drug services policy, it says it will issue a warning at least 7 days before suspending an account.

Sources: Meta: About the enforcement of Meta Advertising Standards, Meta: About ad account status in Business Support Home, Meta: Request a review for a restricted advertising account, TikTok: Ad Review FAQs, TikTok: About Account Health in TikTok Ads Manager, Google Ads: Healthcare and medicines policy, Google Ads: Prescription drug services policy, checked 3 November 2026.

Common questions

Can you advertise mental health services on Facebook?

Yes, within the Personal Attributes rule. Meta says ads must not assert or imply personal attributes, including mental health. Its own examples allow "Depression counseling" and reject "Depression getting you down? Get help now." See mental health Facebook ads.

Can a mental health lead ad ask about symptoms?

Not without permission. Meta's Advertising Standards say ads must not request health information, including mental health, without Meta's prior permission, and list lead ad fields asking whether a person has experienced mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety, as not allowed. TikTok says lead ads cannot request sensitive information such as medical information.

Do addiction treatment ads need LegitScript for Google?

In the United States, Google requires recovery-oriented drug and alcohol addiction services to be certified as an addiction services provider by LegitScript. Google says services for impulse control disorders, behavioral addiction or nicotine addiction are out of scope of that policy.

Can you advertise psychiatric medication?

The platform pages we checked do not name psychiatric medication, so the general prescription rules apply. Prescription products fall under Meta's Drugs and Pharmaceuticals policy, which requires telehealth providers and online pharmacies to be actively certified with LegitScript, to have Meta's authorization, and to target only people 18 or older in the United States, Canada or New Zealand. On TikTok, the US prescription medicine row asks for proof of approval and certification from a regulator such as the FDA, and restricts the ads to people 18 or older.

How do you promote mental health services in ads?

Describe the service, not the viewer. Meta's Personal Attributes policy lets ads use "you" language without a personal attribute and says ads should focus on the benefits of the product or service being advertised. A line like "Depression counseling" is Meta's own allowed example.

Sources

  1. Meta: Privacy Violations and Personal Attributes (checked 3 November 2026)
  2. Meta: Introduction to the Advertising Standards (checked 3 November 2026)
  3. TikTok: Ad Review FAQs (checked 3 November 2026)
  4. Google Ads: Healthcare and medicines policy (checked 3 November 2026)
  5. Meta: Drugs and Pharmaceuticals ad policy (checked 3 November 2026)
  6. TikTok: Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals ad policy (checked 3 November 2026)

Last reviewed . Platform policies change often; we re-check this page every quarter.

Back to the Online therapy and psychiatry overview.

Marketing for treatment programs, IOPs and PHPs is covered in our behavioral health marketing section.

Same page for other verticals

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