We think you deserve
better than most.
Choosing a group practice is a big deal — it shapes your training, your income, and honestly, how you feel about coming to work. We put this page together because we want you to have everything you need to make a genuinely good decision. Including about us.
We're going to be straight with you: right now, most group practices — including BIPS — have more therapists than incoming client inquiries. Building a full caseload takes time, and we don't want you to come in expecting otherwise. Some new hires take several months to reach 20+ clients per week.
We also ask that new clinicians put genuine effort into their own marketing and outreach. We promote you across multiple platforms and do everything we can to get your name out there — but it works best when you're in it with us.
We're telling you this now because we'd rather you know everything upfront than feel surprised or let down later. That's just how we try to do things here. And while your caseload is growing, we'll be right there — supporting you clinically, financially, and as a whole person. That part, we're confident in. Read on.
The questions worth
asking out loud
These are the things that matter most when choosing a group practice — the stuff that doesn't always come up in interviews. We think you should ask every practice you're talking to, including us. A good practice will welcome these questions.
This is the single most important question. A 1099 means you're a contractor — no employment protections, no benefits eligibility, and you pay both sides of Social Security and Medicare tax (~15%). The difference can be $8,000–15,000/year out of your pocket.
At BIPS: W-2 only, always. Your taxes are handled, your protections are real, and you're treated like an employee — because you are one.
Ask: how often, with whom, in what format, and is it included in your pay or billed back to you? Many practices offer supervision as an add-on expense, not a benefit. Biweekly supervision is the bare minimum required by NYS — it shouldn't be your ceiling.
At BIPS: 1 hour of individual supervision + 2 hours of group supervision every week, included in your pay. Led by a PsyD or LCSW who genuinely invests in your development.
The vast majority of NYC group practices do not provide health insurance. If you're full-time and uninsured, you're either on the marketplace (~$400–800/mo) or going without. This is worth thousands of dollars a year in real terms.
At BIPS: UHC Oxford PPO or EPO options. We cover 60% of your premium for full-time staff — because your health matters as much as your clients'.
Many practices pay a flat rate indefinitely regardless of your growth or hours toward licensure. Your pay should increase as you develop. Ask whether raises are guaranteed, milestone-based, or dependent on negotiation.
At BIPS: Pay grows with you as you accumulate supervised hours toward licensure. You don't have to advocate for yourself or feel awkward asking — it's built into how we operate.
Ask for specifics. Is it first-come-first-served? Based on specialty match? Seniority? Vague answers often mean arbitrary allocation. You should know exactly how you'll be competing for referrals and what's in your control.
At BIPS: Transparent and straightforward — clients are assigned by cohort/hire date, with specialty match taking precedence. You always know where you stand and what's in your control.
Some practices call you full-time at 15 sessions/week. Others at 30+. Know what's expected, what it takes to access benefits, and whether those hours are realistic given how they actually assign clients.
At BIPS: Full-time means 21+ sessions for most benefits, 25+ for health insurance. Part-time (15–20) is available in limited circumstances. No hidden definitions.
Most group practices offer no PTO for fee-for-service clinicians. If you get sick, take a vacation, or need a mental health day, you simply don't get paid. This is legal but it's worth knowing upfront.
At BIPS: 2 weeks PTO for full-time staff, 3 weeks after 3 years. Sick pay accrues automatically. Health insurance is maintained during maternity leave. You matter beyond your caseload.
Is it clinician-led or investor-backed? Practices run by clinicians tend to make decisions with clinical quality in mind. Practices backed by venture capital or private equity tend to optimize for volume and scale — not care quality. Ask directly.
At BIPS: Founded and led by Dr. Marie Mercado, a PsyD who still sees clients. Our leadership and clinical team is majority women and majority clinicians — people who understand this work from the inside. We have no outside investors, no VC backing, and no interest in becoming a tech platform. We exist to serve our community and our staff, full stop.
Several tech-driven practices now use AI tools that analyze session audio or feed clinical notes into machine learning systems. This raises significant ethical and privacy concerns. Ask explicitly what happens with session data.
At BIPS: No session recording, no AI fed your clients' PHI, no data mining — period. This is a hard ethical line for us and always will be.
Some practices build their model around pre-licensed staff — cheaper, high turnover — and don't actually have a path for you after licensure. Ask whether licensed clinicians stay, what their pay looks like, and whether there's room for growth.
At BIPS: Fully licensed clinicians start at $65/session and grow from there. Many of our licensed staff have been here for years — by choice — and have grown into supervision, leadership, and program development roles.
Some practices make clinicians manage their own insurance billing — a significant administrative burden that cuts into your non-session time and adds stress. Others handle it entirely. Know what you're signing up for.
At BIPS: A trusted third-party billing team handles all insurance claims. You focus on your clients and your notes — not on chasing insurance companies.
Ask to speak with current staff before accepting. Ask what the hardest parts are. Ask what's changed in the last year. A practice that's proud of its culture will welcome these questions. One that deflects should give you pause.
At BIPS: Weekly team meetings, special topics, case consultation, and real social connection. We mean it — reach out and ask to speak with anyone currently on our team. We're proud to make that introduction.
BIPS vs. everywhere else
We put this together because we think transparency is a form of respect. "Typical" reflects the most common structure we've seen at NYC group practices — not every practice is the same, and we encourage you to verify everything we're claiming too.
| Category | BIPS | Typical NYC Group Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Employment Structure | ||
| Employment type | W-2 employee — always | Many offer 1099 only |
| Session recording / AI | Never — no recording, no AI fed PHI | Increasingly common at tech-backed practices |
| Clinician-run | Yes — founded and run by a PsyD | Often admin-run or investor-backed |
| Pay | ||
| Starting pay (pre-licensed) | $40–55/session based on supervised hours | $30–50/session — flat regardless of experience |
| Milestone raises | Structured pay growth tied to supervised hours — no negotiation required | Rarely structured — requires negotiation |
| Admin pay | $25/hr for approved admin tasks | Usually unpaid |
| Education reimbursement | $1,500/year for trainings and CEUs | Rarely offered or capped at $250–500 |
| Health & Benefits | ||
| Health insurance | UHC Oxford — BIPS pays 60% at 25+ sessions/wk | Rarely offered at group practices |
| Dental, vision, life insurance | All available (~$39/mo dental; $100k life policy) | Not standard |
| 401(k) | Available after 1 year | Rarely offered |
| Time Off | ||
| Paid time off (FT) | 2 weeks/year; 3 weeks after 3 years | Usually none for fee-for-service clinicians |
| Sick pay | Accrues at 1 hr per 30 hrs worked | NYS minimum only |
| Maternity/family leave | Health insurance maintained during leave + all NYS benefits | NYS minimum |
| Supervision & Training | ||
| Individual supervision | 1 hr/week with PsyD or LCSW — included in pay | Biweekly or less; sometimes billed back |
| Group supervision | 2 hrs/week — alternates didactics and group sup | Monthly at best; often not included |
| In-house modality training | EMDR, IFS, EFT, AEDP, DBT, somatic + external speakers | Usually on your own time and dime |
| Path to supervisor role | Clear pathway — supervise interns, manage locations, develop programs | Rarely structured |
| Infrastructure | ||
| Billing handled | Yes — third-party billing team | Sometimes — many practices don't |
| All platforms paid | SimplePractice, Google Workspace, Paubox + 10 others | Partially covered |
| Tech/internet stipend | $200/year lump sum | Not standard |
| Directory listing paid | 1 subscription/month (~$30 value) | Usually on you |
What you actually take home
Your pay goes up automatically as you accumulate supervised hours. You don't have to ask, advocate for yourself, or feel awkward about it. It just happens — because it should.
Everything is W-2 — taxes handled, protections intact. Pay grows with you as you accumulate supervised hours. We also recognize strong performance and loyalty in ways that go beyond the base rate. One thing we're upfront about: missing required documentation drops your rate to $40 for that session — we hold everyone to the same standard.
Because you deserve
to be taken care of too
We know that doing this work well requires feeling supported — not just clinically, but as a whole person. Most NYC group practices offer none of what's below. We've built this intentionally, piece by piece, because we think you're worth it.
Health & Financial
Time & Flexibility
Professional Development
Infrastructure & Growth
The Bridge Program
Early career is hard. You're ready to do the work, you're excited to learn, and you need income — but the reality is that caseloads take time to build. We don't think that gap should be yours to navigate alone.
We're developing a supported transition model that combines clinical work with hands-on practice experience while your caseload grows. It's our way of saying: we'd rather invest in you early than promise you something we can't deliver. This might be a good fit if you:
- Are early in your career and want a thoughtful entry into group practice
- Value transparency and realistic expectations over sales pitches
- Want exposure to how a strong practice operates behind the scenes
- Are balancing other responsibilities and would benefit from a gradual transition into full-time clinical work
Our goal is to make the beginning of your career feel less like a leap of faith and more like a real plan. If any of this resonates with where you're at right now, just mention it when you reach out. We'd love to talk it through with you.
What it actually feels
like to work here
We actually like each other
Weekly team meetings, special topics, case consultation, social events, group chats that are actually fun. We've built a culture where people know each other's names, show up for each other, and genuinely enjoy being at work. That's rarer than it should be in group practice, and we're proud of it.
Supervision that changes how you think
Weekly individual supervision with a PsyD or LCSW who actually knows you and your cases — not a checkbox, not a formality. We help you find your clinical voice, develop a real niche, and build the kind of confidence that doesn't waver when a session gets hard. Supervisees consistently say it's the best supervision they've had. We love hearing that.
We protect the therapy room
No session recording. No AI trained on your clients' words. No venture capital telling us how to run a clinical practice. We believe the relationship between a therapist and client is sacred, and we're not willing to compromise that for growth or efficiency. Proudly clinician-run, proudly a little analog about it.
Room to become who you want to be
Supervise interns. Run a location. Start a group. Write. Teach. Build a niche in KAP or perinatal mental health or gender care. Help shape what BIPS looks like next year. This isn't just a place to log hours on your way somewhere else — it's a place to actually build something. We want that for you.
Values we actually live by
Anti-racist, anti-oppressive, gender and sexuality-affirming, neurodivergent-affirming — these aren't words on a website, they're how we hire, how we supervise, and who we show up for every day. If your clinical identity is rooted in social justice, you'll feel that here. We exist to serve our community and the people who show up to do this work every day.
We'll always tell you the hard parts too
Caseload building takes time. Marketing yourself is part of the job. There's a 90-day period where we make sure it's a good fit on both sides. Things evolve — we're not a static place. None of this is a dealbreaker, but we'd rather you hear it from us now than be caught off guard later. That's just the kind of practice we're trying to be.
Think we might be
your kind of place?