Project Overview
Ray W. Christner, Psy.D., NCSP, ABPP, is a licensed psychologist and a certified school psychologist in Pennsylvania, a nationally certified school psychologist, and a nationally registered health service psychologist. His expertise encompasses both clinical and school psychology, and he is Board-certified in both behavioral and cognitive psychology.
Operating an independent practice in Hanover, Pennsylvania, Dr. Christner also extends services across 39 states as an authorization holder of the APIT (Authorization to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology) and the TAP (Temporary Authorization to Practice). His professional services include psychotherapy, psychological/neuropsychological assessments, and consultative services, providing services to a diverse clientele ranging from children to adults across various psychological, developmental, behavioral, and educational continuums.
An esteemed author and speaker, Dr. Christner has contributed extensively to his field through numerous publications and presentations. Additionally, Dr. Christner shares his insights as the co-host of the podcast “Psyched to Practice”.
The Problem
While Dr. Christner has established credibility and recognition within the psychology community through his expertise and clinical practice, he was driven by a desire to broaden his impact and share his knowledge with a wider audience. This extended beyond professional circles to include parents, children, educators, and individuals from various backgrounds to ensure his expertise in mental health remained accessible and beneficial to everyone — regardless of their location or background.
Although his practice had a local focus in Pennsylvania and surrounding areas, Dr. Christner saw the potential to broaden his reach, recognizing the opportunity to leverage digital platforms and outreach efforts to expand the visibility of his practice to individuals nationwide. He also understood the importance of establishing a solid listenership for his podcast “Psyched to Practice” to provide valuable insights and resources to both professionals and the general public.
Our team knew we could assist Dr. Christner reach a broader audience by implementing a comprehensive PR strategy tailored to his specific goals. This strategy focused on targeting various outlets, publications, and media platforms beyond the psychology community, encompassing lifestyle, parenting, education, and other areas relevant to Dr. Christner’s expertise.
The Strategy
With Dr. Christner’s goal of reaching a broader audience in mind, our PR strategy was crafted to encompass a wide range of pitch topics, media outreach, and opportunities. Leveraging his expertise on such a vast range of mental health topics, we aimed to capitalize on trending topics within social media.
For instance, we seized upon trends like the “iPad kid” phenomenon on TikTok, utilizing Dr. Christner’s knowledge to position him as a thought leader in the field. This approach enabled us to extend our reach to lifestyle outlets such as Newsweek and Parade.
By tapping into trending topics while pitching our network of journalists and other media professionals about Dr. Christner’s deep understanding of various psychological phenomena, we successfully achieved his objective of gaining recognition on a wider scale. Through implementing this strategy, Dr. Christner not only increased his credibility but also became a go-to expert for general psychology topics that resonated with a broad audience.
Business Impact (results)
As a result of Otter PR’s strategy, Dr. Christner garnered various media attention from top-tier outlets such as Psychology Today and Parents, including an ongoing blog contributorship with Psychology Today. He was also mentioned and quoted in various news and lifestyle outlets like Lifehacker, which received numerous valuable pickups from outlets like Yahoo Lifestyle.
Our team’s efforts also allowed Dr. Christner to further expand his media appearances on various platforms such as TV, radio, and podcasts, which has been instrumental in his goal to reach a wider national and international audience. These appearances — along with the numerous organic media wins our team secured for him — have created substantial growth for Dr. Christner as a thought leader, receiving an estimated 6.61 million views and growing, as well as a 100% increase in organic web traffic and 23% improvement in online domain authority for his practice in under three months.
Since partnering with Otter PR, Dr. Christner has expressed multiple people have reached out to him for other media engagement opportunities, including guest speaker slots and leading discussion panels at several leading universities in the US and Canada. As a result of our tailored PR campaign and ongoing efforts, he continues to gain recognition on a larger scale and is continuously pursued by leading publications as a leading expert in mental health.
Tags: HEALTH & WELLNESS, thought leadership
