Practice Space
History & Purpose
First, to create a place where community-minded mental health and wellness professionals would work cooperatively, supporting one another and
supporting our community by providing professional, affordable services. In Portland, even non-profit counseling agencies rarely charge less than $40 per session, and there are thousands in our community who deserve services as much as those who are
financially stable and/or insured. Wise Counsel & Comfort exists to help insure that those services are available.
Second, to inspire and support professionals to step into private practice without fear, without unbearable financial burdens, in lovely, professional space in which they and their clients can feel safe and comfortable. We’re also able to support practitioners new to the Portland metro area in getting their practice here off to a good start.
We opened in September 2000 and since that time, have supported more than 110 clinicians to begin and build successful private practices, and assisted others with a temporary or second office location.
There are three ‘tiers’ of rent. Standard rent requires only that the practitioner offer sliding scale fees, but requires no commitment as to any particular fee range or availability of lower fees. Discounted rent is offered to those counselors willing to reserve half of their sublet hours for clients paying less than $40 per session. These two rent categories are detailed below.
For those willing to cap their fee schedule at $40 — often a good strategy when beginning private practice — a “Nearly-Non-Profit” rent is available. Please call us for details about current availability of this option.
Location & Space Details
Wise Counsel & Comfort has seven locations in Portland, plus offices in Gresham, Beaverton and downtown Vancouver, Washington, with twenty eight offices in all.
Our newest location in downtown Vancouver is at 408 West 9th in a beautiful old three-story home with a wrap-around porch. Our suite occupies the entire main floor, with four furnished offices, seating 3 to 10, one of which is a multi-purpose space for therapy or bodywork.
Our downtown Portland location is at 37 SW Jefferson, near the west end of the Hawthorne bridge, just steps from Waterfront Park on the Willamette river. There are three offices here, seating four to seven, a comfortable reception area for clients, and a restroom down the hall. The office is fully accessible, and, being on street level, the reception area and one office benefit from south-facing windows filled with lovely stained glass, providing privacy but welcoming the light. Tri-Met bus stop and a parking structure ($1.25 per hour) are both right outside our front door.
Our NW office is at 2037 NW Lovejoy in Portland’s “Pearl” district, just two blocks from Good Samaritan Hospital. We have three offices in a lovely, late 1800′s white colonial building on the ground floor. Portland’s streetcar line runs immediately in front of our office, and the Tri-Met stop (and Starbucks!) are just one block to the west.
In North East Portland, we practice out of three locations.
The “Glisan” offices (fully accessible) are at 5932 NE Glisan, at the corner of NE 60th and Glisan, near Providence Hospital. There are eleven comfortably furnished offices, seating three to twelve, a spacious reception area and restroom. One office here is suitable for massage and energy practice. Five of the offices have leather recliners, and all include accessories that support our therapeutic effectiveness — pens, kleenex, white boards, etc. The reception area offers magazines, soft music, water and a variety of teas for you and your clients. Ample space for display of business cards, brochures and flyers about upcoming events is provided. This office is only steps from Tri-Met (bus) and MAX (light-rail) stops, and for those driving, we are just three blocks from the entrance and exit for Interstate 84. On-street parking is easily available, and we’re delighted to be next door to the “Seven Virtues” coffee shop.
Our “Fremont Storefront” location at 1305 NE Fremont, is fully accessible, in an early 1900′s storefront in a quiet yet lively neighborhood about a mile and a half Northeast of downtown Portland. Two bus lines converge within one block of the office, and there is ample free street parking. We’re surrounded by conveniences and pleasures – a public park, child care center, restaurants, library, natural foods grocery and Starbucks.
The suite includes reception area, restroom and four beautifully furnished offices seating three to nine — one is a multi-purpose room, supporting massage, energy practice, reiki, etc. The reception area has magazines, music, cold water, hot tea of every variety and growing plants.
The third NE location, 4605 NE Fremont, Suite 209, is upstairs in the “Fremont Commons” complex, an environmentally sound “green” building
in the Alameda/Beaumont neighborhood. We’re on the second story, above a wide variety of shops and restaurants (the elevator is just steps away). Parking and public transportation are close and easy. At the Fremont Commons location, two offices are available, each with a small desk for easy charting. The first has a large window on the courtyard and is designed for individual sessions. The second is about 12 x 15, and seats ten.
We have two offices in SE Portland. At the first, 3703 SE 39th Avenue, we share space with mind-body practitioners at “East West Acupuncture.” Our office seats seven, is fully accessible, comfortable and bright, with wall to wall windows on the north and west sides. The second SE Portland office is at 3430 SE Belmont, just upstairs from a neighborhood gathering place, the “Tao of Tea.” This office is on the second floor, seats six comfortably, and has an overhead skylight.
Our east county office is in the heart of Gresham, where we share space with Gresham Family Law. The office seats eight, is furnished in keeping with the 1924 architecture, and we have the added benefit of free parking and security.
In Beaverton, we have a lovely, light filled art therapy studio near Murray Boulevard just west of Portland. Comfortably furnished for individual and couples sessions, the studio is also equipped with wet/dry sand trays, figurines and play therapy toys, and ample table space for art therapy of all kinds.
The comment we hear most often from visitors to any of the Wise Counsel offices is “It just feels so good in here!”
Virtually everything you need to begin and grow your private practice (other than your professional files) are provided for you at Wise Counsel & Comfort. As your practice grows to 15+ hours per week, we offer locked file cabinet space on-site.
Marketing & Community Benefits
Cooperative marketing is a benefit of practicing in the Wise Counsel & Comfort community. Fifteen dollars per month from each colleague’s rent is devoted to supporting the marketing efforts.
Your name, credentials and contact information are included in our monthly publication of the “Professional Directory.” The brochure is available at each location, and can be broadly distributed as part of your marketing effort.
New colleagues at Wise Counsel are provided with complementary design and printing of your first 200 business cards, and assistance is available for design of flyers for groups or special events. Colleagues regularly have the opportunity to participate in special marketing and community networking efforts. One example is our large display ad featuring six colleagues each week in a local newspaper. We often participate in community events, staffing tables providing information on the services available at Wise Counsel & Comfort. Seasonally, we seek opportunities to purchase ad space in other high-profile environments – health clubs, concerts, etc.
Colleagues are welcome to schedule pro-bono sessions or no-fee initial consultations during open hours without any additional fee or rent, and our largest offices are available to you at NO cost if you offer community/educational events for which you charge no fee. This is an excellent marketing strategy. If you have a specialty about which folks are sure to be curious (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy? What’s that?), just reserve the room, post a flyer, send a press release to the local media, and you’re on your way.
Our primary website, Portland-Therapist.com receives an average of 5000 hits daily, and is a proven and consistent path for clients to find us. Your photograph, telephone, email address, and a more comprehensive description of services will be added to the “Meet the Therapists” section of the website, and requires only a $50 initial set-up fee to begin.
Because the task of beginning and building a successful private practice is a demanding one, and the process can be isolating, Wise Counsel & Comfort offers regular opportunities to support and learn from one another. We enjoy monthly social & networking opportunities, and partner with several non-profit agencies in Portland. Twice-monthly peer consultation/training groups, facilitated by seasoned mental health professionals, are available for Wise Counsel colleagues at no cost, and professional trainings are offered several times each year, for which continuing education units are available — again, at no cost to the colleagues in practice at Wise Counsel & Comfort. CEUs are available through our association with the Oregon Counseling Association and the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC).
Rents & Policies
Colleagues reserve their regularly scheduled clinic hours at one location. You may schedule additional hours as needed at a cost of $10 per hour. Requests for additional hours are made by voicemail or email 2-3 days in advance.
The initial term for sublet is ten months, and continues month-to-month following the initial term. Payment required to initiate the lease includes first and last month’s rent, $50 web set-up fee, and $100 key/damage deposit which is entirely refundable. We’re glad to negotiate ‘payment plans’ over the first few months if it would be tough for you to come up with the entire up-front costs — we’re here to help you make it work!
Discounted Rent
(Requires that half of weekly hours be reserved for clients paying less than $40)
$155/Month for 5 hours per week ($5.40 per hour; Includes $15 monthly marketing contribution)
$215/Month for 10 hours per week ($4.60 per hour; Includes $15 monthly marketing contribution)
$265/Month for 15 hours per week ($3.85 per hour; Includes $15 monthly marketing contribution)
$305/Month for 20 hours per week ($3.35 per hour; Includes $15 monthly marketing contribution)
Standard Rent
Requires only that sliding scale fees be available.
$200/Month for 5 hours per week ($8.39 per hour; Includes $15 monthly marketing contribution)
$335/Month for 10 hours per week ($7.25 per hour; Includes $15 monthly marketing contribution)
$415/Month for 15 hours per week ($6.15 per hour; Includes $15 monthly marketing contribution)
$490/Month for 20 hours per week ($5.50 per hour; Includes $15 monthly marketing contribution)
Any hours rented for workshop or group therapy will be charged a modest additional fee.
Weeknight evenings require a minimum 3 hour time slot, 6-9 pm or 7-10 pm
Wise Counsel & Comfort is NOT a group practice; This protects us from exposure to liability for one another’s professional practice. All those in practice at Wise Counsel & Comfort agree in writing to practice according to the highest ethical standards of their profession. In addition, each practitioner will either release Wise Counsel & Comfort, and the building owners for any liability for any injury your client might experience while they are here (“slip & fall”), or provide a property liability policy naming Wise Counsel & Comfort, Lynne Nesbit, and the building owners as co-insured. These are available through professional associations (American Counseling Association, etc.) at modest rates above the cost of your professional liability insurance premiums.
Contact
We welcome your questions. For more information about availability please call our Community & Outreach Coordinator, Courtney Woodward at 971-219-9251. We look forward to hearing from you.