Counseling Services in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho
for Adults, Adolescents, Children and Couples
505-219-1125
Fax: 505-393-4557
Working With Thrive
Interested in working with us? We're always on the lookout for another great clinician and professional to join our team. Our benefits and pay are certainly in the top 5-10% for New Mexico but what really makes us different is our approach to running an agency; we call it the therapist-centric model. We focus on making our therapists happy because we know that everything good will follow.
Thrive Counseling Services Origin Story
Thrive Counseling was created by therapists, for therapists when two colleagues, Demian and Lindsey, met in 2012. We began discussing what had, and what had not, worked at all of the previous agencies we’d each experienced before we met. We knew that what didn’t work was the impersonal, therapy-factory style of the big agencies where therapists are treated like assembly-line workers. And, we knew that the small, chaotic and unorganized agencies where the owner’s unchecked personality impacted the agency as much as the written policies did, definitely didn’t work either.
​​The factors that created positive and successful work environments were clear: the therapist needed to be the center of attention; not productivity, bureaucracy or anyone's personality. This meant that the therapist needed to feel respected, cared for and listened to. They needed to be paid well, to have their physical and emotional health prioritized at work, and that they needed to have a strong sense of both autonomy and support, as well as an accepting professional community. These are the fundamental principles from which
Thrive operates.​​​
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What you can expect from us:
Thrive Counseling is a locally owned and operated, mid size and highly efficient, but very personal, therapist-centric agency that focuses on the needs of our clinical staff. We will always be flexible with your schedule and we will always be understanding and ready to
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​​​​Our agency runs more from a relational and collaborative structure than it does a hierarchical one, as we believe that the agency works for the therapist as much as the therapist works for the agency. Given that almost half of our agency is made up of therapists that were referred to us by our current employees, we're confident that we're on the right track!​
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​​​​​​​​​What we offer :
-A yearly total pay of $87,464 (gross) when 24 weekly sessions are completed, as we pay $68 gross per session. This total includes the 2 weeks PTO and the Wellness Stipend cash, but not any other benefits. This pay is based on billable sessions, not a salary, i.e. fee-for-service, although we can offer a salaried version of pay that comes out to approximately 12% less total yearly pay.
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-A monthly $200 Wellness Stipend automatically added to your paycheck that you can use on anything healthcare related, including taking extra time off for mental health or spa days or, paying towards your individual health insurance. We also have a great insurance plan broker that will help you find the best insurance coverage for you
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-A minimum of 2 weeks/year PTO for all employees
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-Paid holidays (adding these to the PTO would bring the total paid time off to a minimum of 3 weeks/year)
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-A 3% matched retirement plan that can be begin immediately and is yours no matter how long you work with us
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-A $400 yearly stipend for continuing education and training
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-26-30 hour work weeks for full-time (even for our admin team) and bonuses for sessions done above the requested amount (24) that can earn you up to $5,000 more base pay
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-Our entire benefit package, with the stipend, PTO, paid holidays, CE reimbursement and the 3% match comes out to a grand total minimum of $92,187; (gross) you cannot make less than this as a full-time therapist with us
*If you want to see the nitty-gritty details of our pay and benefits, see the bottom of this page
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At Thrive Counseling Services you will find true flexibility. Your caseload is exactly that, yours. You choose where you work from, when you work and with whom you want to work. You can choose your sessions to be in-person (from either of our 2 offices), remote or a
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​Thrive works for you! Thus, the agency will always have the clients to keep your schedule filled, handle all initial scheduling and all other specific client requests as well as the things that you don't want to deal with like billing, copays, etc. This is also why we are a fully digital agency (no physical paperwork whatsoever) with a good EMR/EHR.
Misc.: You are covered under our professional liability insurance at no cost to you, payday is every 2 weeks on a Friday, if a session gets denied by insurance we still pay you for it and we do not require a CYFD background check.
And lastly, we commit to never growing to more than 20 therapists (we currently have about 15) because we firmly believe that there is no way to keep the level of quality, therapist or client-focus once an agency gets much bigger than this. Our admin and managing director are always easily reached and are closely involved with the day-to-day activity of the agency and the needs of our therapists.
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Our expectations:
-24 completed weekly-sessions (we are never punitive if this is not accomplished, or at any other time, for that matter). If issues do arise, we always approach with respect and understanding (your ‘boss’ is a therapist, after all).
-A healthy respect for the time, energy and effort of our admin team.
-All the typical paperwork and protocols that most other private, outpatient clinics have.
-While we do have therapists who are fully remote, we prioritize a sense of community and connection within the agency so we have four in-person staff meetings each year.
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*We are a w-2 employer, not a contractor. These are not pay ranges. The above total yearly pay of $87,464 is the contractor equivalent, your pay before taxes; the w-2 version of the same pay is $80,466 since we pay half of your taxes. Both the contractor and w-2 versions of pay equate to you taking home the same amount of money at the end of the year, the only difference being that as a w-2, you have more rights, economic safety and less end-of-year tax work.
We know this is a lot of information and are happy to clarify. We further suggest that you only consider being a real w-2 employee regardless of where you choose to work. Contractor agencies do not have your best interest in mind.
The w-2 version of the grand total minimum is $84,812.
***Calculations: $68 per hour is our contractor equivalent rate. $62.56 per hour is the w-2 version of the same rate. $68 or $62.56 per session, at 24 sessions per week X 52 weeks per year= $84,862 if you were a contractor= $78,074 as a w-2 employee. These numbers only include the 3-weeks total PTO and no other benefits.
P.S. This job posting was thoughtfully and lovingly written by a human (is this what a robot would say?) ;-)
listen about any other issues. We have an amazing administrative team that has taken years to find, develop and hone and whose sole job it is to allow you to focus on your clinical work and your overall well-being. Our intra-agency communication is simple and direct. We operate on the fundamental premise that happy employees make for happy clients,
who in turn, make for good business.
mixture of in-person and remote. And, we never expect our therapists to be available outside of their scheduled hours. Further, you don’t have to ask for permission to take extra time off and we don’t require doctor’s notes when you’re sick.
Our clientele are all self-referrals, we do not have any agreements with the state or city and we do not see court-mandated folks, so no DV or forced substance-use treatment. People that come to Thrive are almost 50/50 Medicaid and private insurance. We only accept clients that are appropriate for a low-acuity level of care.
Contact
Please email your resume/CV to Demian Rubalcaba, LCSW,
Owner and Managing Director
Please feel free to text (preferred) or call me directly:
505.610.3610