What Council for Relationships does

Council for Relationships (CFR) is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1932 that delivers mental health and relationship therapy services across eight physical offices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, plus telehealth in 40+ states. The organization provides individual, couples, family, and sex therapy, as well as psychiatric evaluation and medication management, employing evidence-based modalities including the Gottman Method, EMDR, CBT, DBT, IFS, and Brainspotting. CFR runs a portfolio of specialized programs targeting distinct populations: Operation Home & Healing (military/veterans), Community Partnerships Initiative (underserved communities), Community Trauma Response (post-tragedy), Older Adults Program, Child/Adolescent & Family Services, and the research-oriented Transcending Trauma Project. The organization is also a COAMFTE-accredited training institution offering clinical internships, postgraduate certificates in Marriage and Family Therapy (three tracks), CE workshops, and clinical supervision, functioning simultaneously as a clinical practice and a professional education pipeline.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid nonprofit model: per-session therapy and psychiatry fees ranging from $20 to $400+ with sliding-scale discounts and newly added Medicaid acceptance; postgraduate program tuition and CE workshop fees; and charitable contributions processed through Blackbaud. Distribution combines direct-to-consumer intake (website forms, phone, Cal.com-scheduled callbacks) with community-based referral channels via 13+ institutional partners and the Headstrong Project for veterans. In May 2025 CFR averted near-closure through a stabilization partnership with the Lancaster-based Sun Point Foundation, which also enabled Medicaid acceptance as a new revenue stream. As of the source date the organization maintains operating status, a Four-Star Charity Navigator rating, and Platinum GuideStar transparency status.

Name

Council for Relationships

Legal name

Council for Relationships

Website

https://councilforrelationships.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1932

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Council for Relationships is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit founded in 1932 that delivers individual, couples, family, and sex therapy across eight offices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, plus telehealth in 40+ states, while running COAMFTE-accredited postgraduate training and specialized programs for veterans, children, older adults, and underserved communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Therapy Services

NAICS

Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Peer Support, Recovery Coaching & Sober Living Services (HLAFACAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

School Counseling Services (Individual & Group) (EDAKAMAB), Companion Care & Social Support (non-clinical) (HLADAGAB)

Keywords

• Mental health therapy
• Couples counseling
• Family therapy services
• Psychiatry services
• Clinical professional education

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Therapy and Psychiatry Services: CFR generates revenue through individual, couples, family, and sex therapy sessions, as well as psychiatric evaluation and medication management services. Session fees range from $20-$400+ depending on service type, provider, and client financial circumstances. The organization now accepts Medicaid insurance, expanding its payer base. A sliding fee scale is offered for underinsured and uninsured clients.
2. Clinical Training Programs: CFR offers CE workshops, clinical internships, postgraduate certificate programs, and clinical supervision for mental health professionals. These professional education services generate revenue while simultaneously supporting the organization's clinical workforce.
3. Donations and Grants: As a nonprofit organization established in 1932, CFR receives charitable contributions from donors and may apply for foundation grants. The organization actively solicits donations through its website.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Council for Relationships operates a nonprofit mental-health practice delivering individual, couples, family, and sex therapy along with psychiatric evaluation and medication management across 8 offices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey plus an online therapy platform. It supplements clinical services with COAMFTE-accredited postgraduate certificate programs, clinical internships, clinical supervision, and CE workshops for mental-health professionals. Targeted programs serve military veterans, children/adolescents, older adults, and underserved populations through community partnerships and the Transcending Trauma Project research initiative.

Product overview

Council for Relationships offers a comprehensive mental health service portfolio centered on individual, couples, and family therapy provided through 8 offices and online across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The organization operates as a nonprofit mental health practice and training institution, combining direct clinical services with professional education. Core services include Individual, Couples, and Family Therapy, Psychiatry, Sex Therapy, and Low Cost Therapy Services. The Relationship Checkup (powered by Gottman Institute research) provides accessible couples assessment. Specialized programs address specific populations including Child/Adolescent & Family Services (CAFS), Community Partnerships Initiative (CPI) for underserved communities, Community Trauma Response (CTR), Older Adults Program (OAP), and Operation Home & Healing (OHH) for military veterans. Research initiatives include the Transcending Trauma Project (TTP). Professional education offerings include CE Workshops, Clinical Internship Program, Clinical Supervision, and a COAMFTE-accredited Postgraduate Certificate Program in Marriage & Family Therapy with three tracks (Clinical, Clergy, Sex Therapy).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Community Partnerships Initiative (CPI): A program bringing therapy to clients who need it most but experience barriers to access, offering free on-site and off-site services in collaboration with partner agencies throughout the greater Philadelphia area.
• Community Trauma Response (CTR)
• Older Adults Program (OAP)
• Operation Home & Healing (OHH)
• Transcending Trauma Project (TTP)

Products and services

• Individual Therapy One-on-one counseling provided by skilled therapists to address mental-health concerns including anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, life transitions, and related issues; available in-person at 8 offices in PA/NJ and online across 40+ states.
• Couples Therapy Relationship counseling using the Gottman Method and related modalities to improve communication, deepen intimacy, and reduce conflict for married, cohabitating, dating, separated, or divorced couples.
• Family Therapy Therapy that works with the whole family to address generational communication, blended-family dynamics, parenting concerns, and child/adolescent issues by exploring interactions, patterns, and roles within a familial framework.
• Sex Therapy Integrated and collaborative sex therapy addressing sexual enrichment, intimacy concerns, sexual function disorders, gender identity, sexual trauma, and relationship sexuality for individuals and couples.
• Psychiatry Psychiatric evaluation and medication management provided by trained psychiatrists, including comprehensive evaluation of biological causes and treatment of symptoms; typically reimbursed by insurance.
• Low Cost Therapy Services Sliding-scale therapy services delivered by closely supervised clinical interns at $20 to $90 per hour based on income, ensuring access for clients who cannot afford standard therapy rates; no one turned away due to financial limitations.
• Relationship Checkup Research-based Gottman Relationship Checkup delivered as three 1-hour private sessions focused on communication, personality differences, family background, and other relationship concerns; priced at $99 per couple.
• Child, Adolescent & Family Services (CAFS) Comprehensive services for children, adolescents, and families including child/adolescent psychiatry, play therapy, individual counseling, and family therapy with therapists trained in emotion regulation, coping skills, and developmental approaches.
• Community Partnerships Initiative (CPI) Free, on-site and off-site therapeutic services delivered in collaboration with 13+ partner agencies (schools, social-service organizations, faith communities, immigrant-services organizations) to bring therapy to underserved populations in greater Philadelphia.
• Community Trauma Response (CTR) Grief and trauma interventions, specialized leadership training, and healing support provided to communities, organizations, and groups following tragedies.
• Older Adults Program (OAP) Individual, relationship, and family therapy for adults 60+, group classes on retirement, grief, and emotional well-being, specialized training for mental-health professionals, and educational programs for communities and organizations.
• Operation Home & Healing (OHH) Counseling services for active-duty service members, veterans of all eras, National Guard and Reserves members, and their spouses and children, delivered by clinicians with specialized training in military culture and competency; first 30 sessions free through Headstrong partnership, then $40 co-pay.
• Transcending Trauma Project (TTP) Research initiative that has conducted 306 in-depth life history interviews with Holocaust survivors and their descendants since 1991 (1,200 archived hours), preserved at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and informing CFR's trauma treatment approaches.
• Postgraduate Certificate Program in Marriage & Family Therapy COAMFTE-accredited premier training program for licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist, offering three tracks: Clinical, Clergy, and Sex Therapy; taught by instructors and supervisors in the AAMFT-accredited Post Graduate Program.
• Clinical Internship Program Masters-level student internship program providing practical training in mental-health counseling under supervision, integrating clinical care with professional education.
• Clinical Supervision Supervision services provided for clinical interns and developing therapists to support their professional growth and clinical competency.
• CE Workshops Continuing education (CE) workshops for licensed mental-health professionals to earn CE credits and develop advanced clinical skills.
• Congregational and Family Systems Academy Specialized certificate program focusing on family systems within congregational settings, designed for clergy and mental-health professionals.
• Therapy & Support Groups Virtual and in-person ongoing therapy and support groups including the Hospitality Industry Therapy Group, College Students Support Group, and Rural Pennsylvania Therapy Group, addressing specific community populations and needs.
• Workshops Educational workshops for personal and relationship development, including the Stronger Together PREP 8.0 couples workshop series and Never Too Late: Growing Through Change individual workshops.

Quantifiable outcome

• 306 in-depth life history interviews conducted since 1991, informing trauma treatment across diverse populations including veterans and genocide survivors.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sun Point FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 May 2026Sun Point Foundation, a Lancaster-based behavioral health organization, partnered with CFR on May 18, 2026 to stabilize the organization and expand access to mental health services. This partnership enabled CFR to avoid closure after facing mounting financial challenges. Going forward, CFR will accept Medicaid insurance (historically not accepted) and serve clients on a sliding fee scale for underinsured and uninsured individuals.
• Headstrong ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Since 2018, CFR has partnered with the Headstrong Project to provide rapid-response, stigma-free, and confidential therapy to service members, veterans of all eras, and their spouses and children in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Headstrong clients receive the first 30 sessions at no cost and unlimited sessions with a $40 co-pay per session after the first 30. This partnership enables veterans to access therapy without traditional barriers.
• Delaware Valley Veterans Consortium (DVCC)minorOthersCFR is a member of the Delaware Valley Veterans Consortium (DVCC), which unites military and veteran service organizations to build programmatic capacity and increase services to clients under regional collaboration. CFR's Nancy Isserman serves as Vice Chair of DVCC.
• Community Partnerships Initiative PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCFR's Community Partnerships Initiative (CPI) collaborates with 13+ partner organizations to provide free, on-site therapeutic services to underserved populations throughout greater Philadelphia. Partners include schools (Cristo Rey High School, Gesu School, Paul L. Dunbar School, Southwark School, Cornerstone Christian Academy), social services (Project HOME, Acts Christian Transitional Services, Families Forward Philadelphia, HELP Philadelphia, Danny's House), and other organizations (Mt Vernon Manor CDC, Nationalities Service Center, Natural Creativity Center). Services include individual, couples, and family therapy plus crisis response.
• Gottman InstitutecoreTechnology or IntegrationCFR Clinical Interns are trained and approved by the Gottman Institute to deliver the Gottman Relationship Checkup, a research-based couples assessment tool relying on 40 years of scientific research by Dr. John Gottman. This partnership enables CFR to offer evidence-based relationship assessment services.
• Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE)coreOthersCFR's Postgraduate Certificate Program in Marriage and Family Therapy is accredited by COAMFTE, one of the nation's premier training programs for licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist. Three tracks offered: Clinical, Clergy, and Sex Therapy.
• U.S. Holocaust Memorial MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Phil Wachs and Juliet Spitzer Archive of the Transcending Trauma Project, containing 1,200 hours of in-depth life history interviews, has been donated to and preserved at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ackerman Institute for the Family: NYC-based nonprofit founded in 1960 providing family therapy, clinical training, and research—closely mirrors CFR's combination of direct clinical services, MFT training, and a research arm.
• The Family Institute at Northwestern University: Northwestern-affiliated nonprofit offering therapy for individuals, couples, and families plus an MFT master's program, directly comparable to CFR's clinical-plus-education model.

Regional players

• Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Philadelphia: Philadelphia-area nonprofit providing counseling, elder services, and case management; competes in the same metro for the same sliding-fee and community-embedded mental health demand.

Broad incumbents

• Penn Behavioral Health (Penn Medicine): University of Pennsylvania's behavioral health service line offering therapy, psychiatry, and crisis services in the same Philadelphia market with broader institutional scale.
• BetterHelp: Largest venture-backed online therapy platform offering individual, couples, and teen therapy; competes with CFR's telehealth channel for the same self-pay and consumer demand.
• Talkspace: Public online therapy platform with B2B2C employer partnerships and direct consumer access; represents the scaled, technology-led model CFR's telehealth offering competes against.

Others

• The Gottman Institute: CFR's direct methodology partner and licensor of the Gottman Relationship Checkup; an upstream enabling relationship rather than a competitor, but defines CFR's couples-therapy positioning.
• Headstrong Project: National nonprofit veteran-services partner that funnels veteran referrals to CFR clinicians; an adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a competitor.
• American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy: National professional association governing the MFT profession; relevant given CFR's COAMFTE accreditation and postgraduate MFT program.

Emerging players

• Open Path Collective: Nonprofit network of therapists offering sessions at $30–$80 to underinsured clients nationwide; overlaps with CFR's Low Cost Therapy Services in target population and price band, but operates as a referral marketplace rather than a direct provider.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CouncilforRelationships
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/council-for-relationships
• Instagraminstagram.com/councilforrelationships
• Xx.com/CFRsince1932

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Council for Relationships