CULTIVATE: a counseling collective

What CULTIVATE: a counseling collective does

CULTIVATE: a counseling collective is a private outpatient therapy practice headquartered in San Diego, California, operating two physical offices (University Heights and La Mesa) plus a HIPAA-compliant telehealth service available statewide in California. Founded in 2017 and founder/therapist-owned, the practice fields a roster of approximately 23 clinicians spanning licensed (LMFT, LCSW, LPCC) and associate-level (AMFT, APCC, ASW) credentials across six service lines: individual therapy, couples therapy (using Emotionally Focused Therapy), family therapy, child and adolescent therapy (ages 3-17), trauma therapy (EMDR and IFS), and telehealth. The practice has carved specialty positioning in LGBTQ+ care, trauma, and attachment-based modalities, supported by a clinical leadership structure covering associates and licensed staff.

The business model is primarily a fee-for-service clinical operation. Session fees range from $170 for registered associates to $200-$250 for licensed therapists per 50-55 minute session, with 75-minute extended sessions offered for EMDR, couples, and intensive work, plus a sliding scale on a case-by-case basis. CULTIVATE operates as an out-of-network PPO provider, issuing super bills for client-side reimbursement, and accepts all major credit cards, HSA cards, cash, and checks paid on the day of service. There is no subscription or insurance-panel revenue model; the practice generates essentially all clinical revenue per session, supplemented by minor streams from workshops (e.g., the "Connection First" attachment workshop), branded merchandise (totes and hats sold via Venmo), and a published interactive journal (CULTIVATE: Reflections, distributed via Amazon).

Customer acquisition relies on a community-led go-to-market motion: brand presence on the cultivatesandiego.com website, hosted workshops and meet & greets, an active "Join the Team" hiring page that doubles as brand awareness, and direct phone/email intake by an administrative assistant (Jenna Taylor) who matches prospects to therapists within 24 hours. Customer segments are highly fragmented across use cases (individuals, couples, families, kids/teens, trauma survivors, LGBTQ+ clients, telehealth clients) and the practice reports no enterprise customers or B2B contracts. The practice has raised no external capital, has no parent company, and shows no recorded M&A or restructuring activity in the available data.

Name

CULTIVATE: a counseling collective

Legal name

CULTIVATE: a counseling collective

Website

https://cultivatesandiego.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CULTIVATE: a counseling collective is a San Diego-based private therapy practice operating two physical offices and statewide California telehealth, employing 23 licensed and associate therapists who deliver individual, couples, family, child/adolescent, trauma, and LGBTQ+-focused counseling on a fee-for-service basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Therapy Sessions: Core revenue from therapy sessions. Licensed therapist sessions range from $200-$250 per 50-55 minute session. Associate therapist sessions are $170 per session. Extended 75-minute sessions available for EMDR, couples therapy, and intensive therapy at premium rates. Sliding scale options available for eligible clients.
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including Cultivate totes ($8 via Venmo) and hats ($20 via Venmo). Products can be picked up at either office location.
3. Products/Journal: Sale of the Cultivate: Reflections interactive journal available in paperback and hardcover, sold in offices and on Amazon.
4. Workshops & Events: Revenue from community workshops such as the 'Connection First' workshop on attachment for caregivers. Facilitated by therapist Audrey Henderson.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CULTIVATE: a counseling collective is a private therapy practice that delivers individual, couples, family, child/adolescent, trauma, and telehealth counseling sessions delivered by licensed and associate-level clinicians. The practice operates two San Diego offices (University Heights and La Mesa) and supplements its core therapy services with branded merchandise (journals, totes, hats) and community workshops.

Product overview

CULTIVATE: a counseling collective is a mental health practice offering a range of therapy services including Individual Therapy, Couples Therapy (EFT), Family Therapy, Kids & Teens Therapy, Trauma Therapy, and Telehealth Therapy. The practice operates as a unified service offering where clients can access various therapeutic modalities tailored to their needs. Additionally, the collective sells branded merchandise including the CULTIVATE: Reflections interactive journal, tote bags, and hats, and hosts community events such as the Connection First workshop and Meet & Greet sessions for prospective team members.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cultivate: Reflections: A 135-page interactive journal with 30 reflective exercises broken into four categories: mind, body, feels, and people.
• Connection First Workshop

Products and services

• Individual Therapy One-on-one therapy sessions tailored to individual needs, addressing concerns such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and personal growth. Sessions are 50-55 minutes and delivered by licensed or associate therapists.
• Couples Therapy (EFT) Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples seeking to strengthen emotional connection, heal attachment injuries, and improve communication. Includes premarital counseling support.
• Family Therapy Therapy sessions for families addressing relational dynamics, parent-teen conflicts, sibling issues, and broader family system challenges.
• Kids & Teens Therapy Therapeutic services for children ages 3-17 using play therapy, art therapy, and age-appropriate interventions to address emotional and behavioral concerns.
• Trauma Therapy Specialized trauma therapy using EMDR and IFS modalities to help clients process traumatic experiences and develop coping strategies for PTSD, childhood trauma, and sexual trauma.
• Telehealth Therapy Remote therapy sessions delivered via HIPAA-compliant video conferencing platforms, allowing California-based clients to access therapy from home or outside the San Diego area.
• Connection First Workshop Community workshop on attachment in children introducing practical tools to build stronger caregiver-child relationships, facilitated by therapist Audrey Henderson.
• CULTIVATE: Reflections Journal A 135-page interactive journal with 30 reflective exercises categorized into mind, body, feels, and people to support mental and relational health goals. Available in paperback and hardcover, sold in offices and on Amazon.
• CULTIVATE Branded Totes Branded tote bags sold for $8 via Venmo, available for pickup at either office location.
• CULTIVATE Branded Hats Branded hats sold for $20 via Venmo, available for pickup at either office location.

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SonderMind: SonderMind is a therapist network and group practice platform operating across multiple U.S. states, connecting clients to licensed clinicians for in-person and telehealth therapy. Directly comparable to Cultivate as an outpatient mental health practice model, with technology-enabled matching and broader geographic reach.
• Two Chairs: Two Chairs operates multi-location outpatient mental health clinics offering individual, couples, and family therapy with evidence-based modalities. Like Cultivate, it runs in-person practices plus telehealth, but operates at a larger multi-city scale (SF, LA, NYC, San Diego) with in-network insurance contracts.
• Ellie Mental Health: Ellie Mental Health is a franchised outpatient therapy practice with multiple locations offering individual, couples, family, and trauma counseling. Comparable to Cultivate in service breadth and community-led GTM, but scales via franchise model rather than single ownership.
• Octave: Octave is a group therapy practice operating in multiple metro areas (including California), offering individual, couples, and family therapy with a curated clinician model. Highly comparable to Cultivate in service mix and premium-positioned outpatient delivery, though larger and operating with insurance partnerships.
• Modern Therapy: Modern Therapy operates a curated group therapy practice model offering individual, couples, and family counseling in physical locations. Directly comparable to Cultivate's collective outpatient practice structure, though Modern Therapy has a stronger urban East Coast presence.

Broad incumbents

• Spring Health: Spring Health is a mental health and wellbeing benefits provider combining therapy, coaching, and medication services delivered to enterprise clients. Comparable to Cultivate in evidence-based outpatient therapy, but accessed through employer contracts rather than retail consumer channels.
• Lyra Health: Lyra Health is a mental health benefits platform offering in-person and virtual therapy, coaching, and medication management through employer-sponsored contracts. Comparable to Cultivate in therapy delivery, but addresses demand via B2B benefits rather than direct consumer acquisition.
• Talkspace: Talkspace is a publicly traded telehealth therapy platform offering individual, couples, and teen therapy across all 50 states via a digital subscription model. A broader incumbent serving the same outpatient mental health demand as Cultivate, but delivered purely online with insurance and employer partnerships.
• BetterHelp: BetterHelp is the largest direct-to-consumer online therapy platform offering individual, couples, and teen counseling via subscription. Operates as a broad incumbent in the same outpatient therapy market Cultivate serves, but at massive scale and fully remote delivery.

Emerging players

• Charlie Health: Charlie Health provides intensive outpatient and virtual mental health programs for adolescents and young adults, including family therapy and trauma treatment (EMDR, DBT). Comparable to Cultivate's trauma and kids/teens service lines, but with a higher-acuity intensive program model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cultivate-a-counseling-collective

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CULTIVATE: a counseling collective