Ascend: The Pulse Fellowship
Elevate your voice. Launch your private practice!
We’re thrilled to announce our new 2-year fellowship program is underway: a private practice launchpad! Ascend funds a cohort of 5 associates from underrepresented communities* with a stipend, supervision and resources.
- Clinical confidence
- Business savvy
- Lasting community
*We are committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. We invite applicants from all backgrounds to apply. We especially welcome individuals who identify as bilingual, neurodivergent, LGBTQIA2S+, QTBIPOC, and/or who embrace Health at Every Size (HAES), and other inclusive frameworks.
Application deadline has passed for the current cohort; check back in June 2027.
Fellowship Goals
- Support Associates in launching their private practice
- Provide mentorship and resources for clinical and business excellence
- Ensure Associates earn a living wage
- Foster professional growth and development
Program Objectives
- Seminars: Practical steps to owning a healthcare business
- Supervision: Group and individual guidance for clinical growth
- Wages: Structured to prepare for managing a private practice
Timeline
- Applications Open: TBA
- Application Deadline: TBA
- Fellows Announced: TBA
- Program Duration: 24 mos.
Compensation & Expectations
- Salary: $300/month base pay + commission 55/45 split
- Salary Cap: $90,000
- Full Caseload: 20–25 direct client hours/week
- 30-35 hour work week includes direct client hours; plus documentation, training, and supervision
- Work Setup: Private office or HIPAA-compliant home office
- No attendance at Pulse staff meetings or gatherings
Fellows Receive:
- Paid profile on Pulse website & Psychology Today
- Billing and compliance
- Malpractice insurance
- Licensing & credentialing support
- Weekly individual supervision
- Monthly group supervision
- Monthly seminar on private practice ownership
- Mentorship & community of likeminded leaders
Meet the 2025-2027 Ascend Fellows:
Jessica Beatty
Therapy with me is collaborative and affirming, a space where your identity and lived experience are deeply honored. You are the expert in your own life. My role is to walk alongside you as we explore the stories you’ve inherited, the narratives that have shaped you, and the ones that are ready to be rewritten.
Shiloh Quibell
MSW, CSWA
Ananda Gear
MA, Professional Counselor Associate
Therapy with me is a relational, collaborative process rooted in the belief that healing happens in connection—with ourselves, with others, and with the natural world. I show up as a real person in the room, not a distant expert, and I walk alongside you with curiosity, warmth, and respect for your lived experience.
Madz Wright
MSW, CSWA
I’m so glad you’re here. Together, at your own pace, we will tune into what your body knows and provide your stories, emotions, and longings the presence and care they’ve been yearning for.
La Christiana “Lala” Harris
MSW, CSWA
You deserve to feel comfortable in your body, experience alignment with your intuition, be open with your creativity, and feel grounded in your environment and relationships.
Elena Huerta
MSW, CSWA, CRM, QMHP
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible?
Pre-licensed clinicians interested in developing the business and clinical skills to operate a successful private practice while working toward licensure.
Am I an employee?
Ascend fellows are temporary, full-time employees of Pulse Wellness Cooperative. Fellows will not receive traditional benefits (health insurance, retirement, etc.) while enrolled in the program. However, Fellows receive a higher rate of pay than permanent employees, all operations expenses are covered for the two years of participation, individual and group clinical supervision, and monthly business development training seminars. Check out the Ascend Fact Sheet for more detailed information.
Can I see Care Oregon/OHP clients? What insurance can I accept?
What is the commitment?
How much will it cost me?
How much time will it take?
Will I be a permanent employee?
Will I be eligible for the Co-op?
How much will I make?
The Ascend compensation model includes a commission split of 55/45. The company retains 55% and the fellow receives 45% of the total commission earned. In addition, fellows receive $300/month in base documentation pay. Earnings for Ascend fellows are capped at $90,000/year.
(An estimate of earnings for an associate seeing between 20-25 clients per week over 48 weeks, adjusting for variations in forms of payment, insurance companies, and reimbursement rates, is $75,000 – $90,000.)
Are there benefits?
Due to the temporary employee status, Fellows do not receive employer-paid health insurance, retirement contributions, etc. Fellows will be responsible for their health insurance coverage.
Other benefits of participation in the program include: malpractice insurance, licensure and exam fees, weekly individual and monthly group supervision, monthly business development seminar, and all operating expenses paid (electronic health record, Zoom, office space, Psychology Today listing, Pulse Wellness website profile, credentialing, billing services, shared resources).
Can I leave?
What about my clients when I leave?
Who will be my supervisor?
Each fellow will be assigned an appropriate supervisor from the roster of clinical supervisors on the Pulse Wellness Cooperative team. The team is comprised of LCSWs and LPCs. Our supervisors can oversee registered associates in Clinical Social Work, Professional Counseling, and Marriage and Family Therapy.
Where will my office be located?
I don't identify as any of the above-listed underrepresented identities. Do I qualify? Will my application be considered?
Our goal is to support excellent therapists who match the identities of the communities we serve, which includes a lot of different people! All applicants with all types of lived experience, identities, and interests will be considered.
Other questions?
Application deadline: Oct. 1, 2027
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