The Psychotherapy Cooperative
A Non-Profit Organization in Seattle
Offering Affordable Psychotherapy Services
for the Community
Our Origins
The Psychotherapy Cooperative is a Seattle-based non-profit organization with roots in Seattle University’s Master of Psychology (MAP) Program. Faculty and graduates of the MAP Program established the Cooperative as a 501(c)(3) in 1998 during the advent of managed care. Psychotherapy was becoming less affordable, and a growing bureaucracy and emphasis on prescribed treatments was threatening the understanding of psychotherapy as a healing relationship rather than one where the therapist is primarily a diagnostician or technician. From this context, the Cooperative’s mission was born.
Our Mission
Service
Our mission is to provide affordable counseling and therapy services to those who are not otherwise able to afford these services from therapists in private practice or from community mental health agencies. The goal is to provide quality counseling services where the duration and style of therapy is determined by the needs of the client rather than by limits imposed by insurance companies, managed health care, or limited income.
Community
The Cooperative also strives to support community amongst practitioners. Our therapists, clinical supervisors, board of directors, and other participating members provide their services to the organization on a pro bono basis. These members are graduates of the Seattle University Master of Psychology (MAP) Program, whose instruction is grounded in the existential phenomenological tradition of psychology. From this training foundation, graduates tend to challenge approaches in psychology that view human beings in a reductionistic manner. They also seek to develop an in-depth, embodied understanding of human existence and emphasize an understanding of people within the context of their lives. They work individually with adults who experience depression or discouragement, problems with self-esteem or anxiety, difficulty with life transitions, and other issues influencing the quality of life.
A 2006 article on the Cooperative (In the Trenches) captured our long standing goal of fostering community thusly: “The Existential Phenomenological therapist must try to explain his or her model to a society holding an increasingly formulaic way of seeing and addressing psychological distress. [...] But at least one of the missions of the Cooperative is to attempt to support its members as they do this work.”
Supporting Our Work
Become a member
If you are interested in becoming a therapist, supervisor, or other supporting member of the Psychotherapy Cooperative, please read more here about that opportunity.
Financial support
The Psychotherapy Cooperative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We are grateful for donations from the community. All monies received go toward the cost of operating the Cooperative. The therapists, supervisors, and board of directors all work on a volunteer basis. If you would like to support our work, please click the link below to use paypal or your credit card to make a contribution. Or you may send contributions to the Psychotherapy Cooperative at 2711 East Madison Street, Suite 202, Seattle, WA 98112.