Therapist Worker Co-ops

Existing Models

The following is a list of existing models of therapist worker cooperatives so far in the U.S. and Canada:

Click here to explore their website.
Began in 2009 by Jeff Jones as a solo-practice.
Expanded into a collectively owned practice in 2015.
7 worker-owners.
Everyone keeps 100% of what they make from services provided, minus expenses.
Members in first 6 months make 90%, become owners at 6 month mark if full consensus is reached to bring them on a member.
PTO policy: No PTO policy for sick days or vacation as you work how much you want to work. But when it comes to extended time off for disability or family leave the member is only responsible for rent. If that is too much of a hardship we vote to cover the cost of rent for the member. Up to 6 months.
Put in the amount of work you want: 2hrs/week or 40hrs/week: your choice.
Everyone helps pay for rent, bills, accounting, billing.
Decisions made through consensus in weekly meetings.
5 room office + telehealth.
2 member retreats per year.
LLC legal structure.
Must be licensed; small exceptions (ie, few weeks away from licensure; split supervision and note review amongst members willing to).

Click here to explore their website.
Began working cooperatively together in 2018; gained worker-coop legal status in 2021.
7 worker-owners (6 clinical, 1 non-clinical).
Everyone makes $40/hr for all labor (clinical and non- clinical).
At 40hrs per week this is roughly 80k/yr pre-taxes.
Everyone gets healthcare on their own (Medicaid, partner’s insurance or self-purchased through New York Health Exchange).
- No PTO.
- Sick leave/Unplanned time off policy: Members can take off as many days as they need and receive $160 per day (half of what they would earn in an 8-hour workday). No cap on this benefit, just keep others informed on projected return date.
Put in the amount of work you want: 2hrs/week or 40hrs/week: your choice
The practice pays for rent, bills, credentialing, accounting, billing
Started with 2- room office, shifted to 100% telehealth during pandemic
Multi-entity structure
- One member owns PLLC Psychology Practice
- All members own LLC structure
- Money for psychological services flow through PLLC, cooperative financial decisions are made through LLC
- Taxes filed through Subchapter T in cooperative fashion
Blend of licensed and pre-licensed clinicians
Phd and LCSWs provide supervision for 3 LMSWs who need supervision hours toward licensure

Click here to explore their website.
Began in 2022
3 worker-owners
LLC legal structure
All pre-licensed, contract out for supervision
Cooperative articles of incorporation and bylaws. Bylaws here (link coming soon).
We do 70% payouts, 30% of pay is contributed to the co-op per session. This 30% goes towards licensing fees, supervision, therapy software and state fees; each worker-owner gets vote on what the 30% surplus goes toward.
All members owners get one vote, we vote during meeting minutes by discussing which software we are going to use and what supervisor we want to contract. We also vote on who gets inducted into our co-op.
Management is flat so you don’t have a manager or boss telling you what to do and we’re all clinicians doing therapy sessions so no disconnected office managers.
Supervision is contracted out because supervisors have inherent power over us junior licensed clinicians so they are not included in the company structure.
If the company does well you get a quarterly pay out as a member owner so it’s your business as well and member owners have incentive to pitch ideas and have investment to see the co-op do well.
Member owners get to decide what kind of training and direction we want to take as a company going forward so we can vote and send out a clinician to get specialized training like EMDR training as an investment.