Franchise With Us

The Seed of WholeThera

My visit to St. George, Utah marked my first vacation in years. The weight of responsibilities had taken a toll, prompting the need for a break. Escaping to a cherished childhood place was a self-care must.

However, amid the stunning redstone wilderness, I realized my absence meant no income for my family and unpaid bills for my private practice. The pile of work grew daily. Though I was physically removed, I could not really get away, and I returned as worn-out and stressed as I left.

Having completed a Masters of Business Administration before pursuing my Masters and PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy, I gained a unique perspective on the organizational and business systems that clinicians work in. I was surprised that, despite the clinical excellence of these programs, only one course briefly covered fundamental business topics for a couple of weeks.

The system that a clinician works in has wide-spread impact: clinician resilience, professional energy, work satisfaction, and more. These in turn further impact the patient’s experience and outcomes, compounding with the direct influences on them as a client. It was with confusion that I mulled over the lack of training in building an effective and healthy business system in an industry where the majority of career opportunities lie with employment in a small business setting or self-employment.

WholeThera is the result of years of effort, experimentation, and refining the solutions to these systemic issues in our industry. To optimize the effects of the larger system to the benefit of both the clinician and patient, WholeThera is designed to bridge the deficit in business and healthcare administration expertise clinician-owners experience by:

1. Training prospective owners with the skills necessary for success.
2. Allowing them to gain experience within the safety of a franchise system .
3. Outsourcing an optimized set of critical services to WholeThera’s corporate team.

This creates a strong enough business that clinicians do not have to just maintain and survive, but can instead grow and thrive.

After years of refining my business model, I took another trip to St. George with a near identical itinerary. However, this time was different. I could truly relax and step away from my work. I knew that though I was not seeing clients that week, my bills would be paid, my family would have income, and my business could run without me there. My business now empowered me with the time and resources to engage with my community, mentor supervisees, and take time for my own self-care when I needed it without having to sacrifice my financial goals or preferred client load. I could even sell the business I had built to fund my retirement when that time came.  I was no longer trading my time for money and felt freed by owning a business that did not depend upon my constant efforts and attention to succeed.

The “why” of WholeThera is to bring that same opportunity to others. It is to empower the business-minded clinician who wants more, but does not yet have the tools or support to reach it. I hope you’ll consider joining us as we change the world of mental health to one where providers and clients alike can feel like they receive the outstanding care they deserve.

From Seedling to Maturity

Paving the road that led to WholeThera has been a dynamic journey. We have tested nearly as many clinic configurations and business models as can be found: individual private practices, small clinics with two to five clinicians, eventually scaling all the way up to clinics with more than a dozen providers organized into specialized teams to provide fully integrated outpatient treatment, including services like counseling psychiatric medication management, family medical practices, yoga, acupuncture, herbalism, and more.

Tested alongside various clinical setups, WholeThera delved into diverse administrative configurations, including on-site front office staff, off-site office staff, self-administered schedules, clinician administrators, and everything in between. We’ve tested clinician-led online and community marketing initiatives, corporate-led marketing initiatives, radio, print, digital, audio-visual, and social media marketing. We’ve tested the administrative burdens and processes of models ranging from one location to a sprawling network of clinics serving communities in multiple states.

A crucial turning point in this evolution was recognizing the gap between clinicians' expertise in their field and the challenges of running a business. WholeThera's vision crystallized around empowering clinicians who possess a business-oriented mindset and wish to strike a balance between client care, professional growth, and entrepreneurial autonomy. While some clinicians may enjoy running a private practice, others yearn for a diverse approach that avoids being tethered solely to client sessions or business management. This is where WholeThera found its niche, targeting clinicians who are enthusiastic about learning, detail-oriented, and seek a middle ground between a full client load, employment, and entrepreneurial responsibilities.

WholeThera emerged as a culmination of invaluable experiences gained intentionally while seeking an optimized setup. These insights led to the creation of a business model that seeks to harness the best aspects of clinician-driven care and entrepreneurial endeavor. WholeThera aims to provide a supportive ecosystem where clinicians with a business acumen can flourish, diversify their professional engagements, and contribute effectively to the field of behavioral health.