By Zuly Ramirez, LCPC
We’re thrilled to announce that March 24 marked a milestone for our practice…we are now an employee-owned worker cooperative!
We’ve been working toward this for quite some time.
Marilee Feldman launched Life Counseling Institute in 2012, starting from her solo practice, adding clinicians with skills in couples therapy and child and adolescent therapy and developing a comprehensive training program that allows our clinicians to flourish and grow their skills. Marilee is retiring at the end of May, providing the opportunity to transition the practice to employee ownership.
Marilee says, “It’s interesting to me that as exciting as my upcoming retirement is, I’m equally excited about the idea of watching our already amazing leadership team and clinicians take things to the next level. They are so competent, caring, and ready, and I’m proud to turn things over to them. Life Counseling Institute could not be in better hands.”
What It Means to Be a Worker Cooperative
As a worker-owned cooperative, our therapists have the opportunity to become co-owners of the practice. Some are already co-owners; others have a clear path to ownership as they grow with us. In an era when more and more counseling practices are being acquired by outside investors, that distinction means a lot.
In a traditional practice, decisions flow from ownership down. In a worker co-operative, co-owners have a real voice in the future direction of the practice and share in its success, by building a strong community based on shared values of openness, consensus, and equality. “We believe that the worker co-operative model sets up a healthy community for clinicians that will allow them to be invested and supported in their work and provide the best possible care for our clients,” says Feldman.
Meet Our Leadership Team
We’re proud to announce that Zuly Ramirez, LCPC, has stepped into the role of Clinical Director, bringing her depth of experience and commitment to our mission. Alexis McCall, LMFT, LPC, and Rebecca Dorich, LCPC, have been named Assistant Clinical Directors, rounding out a clinical leadership team that knows the practice from the inside out. And holding down the operational fabric of it all is Richelle Anderson, our Practice Manager, whose breadth of knowledge and contributions to daily operations are genuinely hard to overstate.
Why This Model Produces Better Care
Feldman states, “Research shows that employee-owned organizations see higher engagement and a deeper sense of purpose among the people doing the work.” She adds that when clinicians feel genuinely valued–when they have ownership, agency, and a supportive work community around them–they are more likely to show up differently: more present, more grounded, more able to give. “This will definitely show up in the care our clients receive.”
We’re proud to be one of only a small number of worker-owned counseling cooperatives in the country. Give us a call if you’re interested in learning more, are a former client wishing to schedule a final appointment with Marilee, or want to begin counseling at our unique
practice.
