CCRC Is Now a Worker-Owned Cooperative

We have some news we’re proud to share: the Chicago Center for Relationship Counseling is now a worker-owned cooperative. The owners of the practice are now therapists who provide care here. We wanted to tell you what this change means and why we chose it.

Why We Chose Worker Ownership

When our founder, Josh Hetherington, began thinking about the long-term future of CCRC, he faced a choice that many practice owners eventually face. Across the country, therapy practices are increasingly being sold to private equity firms. Those sales often come at a cost: less autonomy for clinicians, more pressure on session volume, and a quality of care shaped by people who have never sat in a therapy room.

That path never fit who we are. Instead, Josh sold the practice to the people who built it alongside him. Working with the nonprofit Project Equity, CCRC transitioned to a cooperative model built on equity, collaboration, and trust.

“I’ve always sought to set up the practice to be therapists-first, believing that by supporting and helping the staff to grow, we can provide better service to our clients,” Josh shared in the announcement. That belief has guided CCRC from the beginning. Worker ownership simply makes it official.

What This Means for You

If you’re a current client, the short answer is that nothing about your care changes. Your therapist is still your therapist. Your sessions, your goals, and the work you’re doing together all continue exactly as they have.

What does change is the foundation underneath that work. The therapist sitting with you now has an opportunity to have an ownership stake and shape the direction of this practice. We think that matters. A practice owned by its therapists stays accountable to the thing that has always mattered most to us: the quality of the relationship between you and the person you’re working with.

If you’re considering therapy and haven’t started yet, this is part of what you can expect from us. We talk a lot about helping people identify the blocks that keep them from accessing their own strengths and resources. Our cooperative structure reflects that same philosophy. When therapists are trusted, supported, and invested in the place where they work, they bring their fullest selves to the room. You feel the difference.

A Model We Hope Others Will Follow

CCRC has always been more than a therapy practice. We train and supervise other clinicians, run workshops and consultation groups, and stay connected to community partners like the Phoenix Clinic. Becoming a cooperative is an extension of that community-minded work.

We also hope our transition offers something to the wider field. Practice owners deserve to know there’s an alternative to selling to private equity, one that protects both the people who work at a practice and the people who come to it for care. If you’re a therapist or practice owner curious about how this works, we’re glad to share what we’ve learned. Our practice management consultation services are one place to start that conversation.

The Same CCRC, Built to Last

We remain a dynamic, diverse group of therapists serving individuals, couples, and families across Chicagoland and Michigan, in person and through teletherapy. We remain an LGBTQIA+ affirming practice where all identities are welcome. And we remain committed to the work of fostering growth, healing relationships, and transforming lives.

What’s different now is that this commitment is structurally protected. CCRC belongs to the people who do this work, and that means the values you’ve come to know here aren’t going anywhere.

If you’ve been thinking about starting therapy, we’d love to help you find the right fit. Fill out our intake form, get matched with a therapist from our team, and begin. Get started here.