In this episode of Therapists Unchained, Sivie Suckerman interviews Dr. Lauren Lawson, a licensed marriage and family therapist, coach, and founder of Hope Counseling Center. They discuss the financial and operational pressures facing private practice owners including corporate tax burdens, widespread clinician burnout, and the limitations of traditional fee-for-service models. Dr. Lawson dispels widespread misconceptions about nonprofit healthcare, outlining her four-pillar framework (formation, governance, revenue, and implementation) while highlighting how therapists can earn competitive salaries, mitigate individual liability through board oversight, and tap into local county and state grants. This conversation provides a practical roadmap for clinicians seeking an innovative model to deliver affordable care to their communities without sacrificing long-term financial stability.

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About Lauren Lawson, PsyD, LMFT

Lauren Lawson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, nonprofit founder, and the founder of Lauren Lawson Coaching. She has spent more than 13 years building and sustaining her own nonprofit group practice, HOPE Counseling Center. Today, Lauren helps therapists who want to serve their communities on a larger scale build nonprofit practices without recreating the burnout, underpayment, and unsustainable systems they’re trying to leave behind.

Her signature Therapist Nonprofit Framework™ focuses on four essential pillars:

Formation — creating the proper legal foundation
Governance — building the right board structure, protection, and oversight
Revenue — creating financial sustainability and multiple revenue streams
Implementation — launching, operating, and growing the organization

Lauren’s work is rooted in a simple belief: therapists shouldn’t have to choose between serving their communities and building financial stability. With the right structure, it’s possible to do both.

Connect With Lauren

Website: Lauren Lawson Coaching
Instagram: @nonprofit_therapy_leaders
YouTube: Nonprofit Practice Mentor
Facebook Community: Nonprofit Therapy Leaders
LinkedIn: Lauren Lawson, PsyD, LMFT

Free Resource for Listeners

Join Lauren’s free live workshop, “Build a Nonprofit Therapy Practice That Works for You and the Community You Serve,” on September 16, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Register for the free workshop

Listeners can also get Lauren’s free Nonprofit Practice Blueprint, designed to challenge common myths about nonprofit therapy practices and help therapists understand what building a sustainable nonprofit can actually look like.

Get the Nonprofit Practice Blueprint

This episode was produced and edited by Sivie Suckerman, MA, LMHC, ACS