Associate Clinician (AMFT, ASW, APCC)

Now Hiring Associate Clinicians

For clinicians who want more than a job posting and less than corporate burnout.

Location: Folsom, CA At the beginning of employment with The R.E.A.L. Institute, we require consistent in-office availability to support client scheduling needs, clinical development, and relationship-building within the practice. While we do offer hybrid services to clients, including both in-person and telehealth sessions, Associates should expect to primarily provide in-office care as they establish and grow their caseload.

Let's be honest.

There are a lot of associate positions out there promising "supportive environments" and "growth opportunities."

We are not interested in buzzwords.

We are interested in building exceptional clinicians who are genuinely prepared for long-term success in private practice.

At The Relationship Elevation and Learning Institute (The R.E.A.L. Institute), we are looking for Registered Associates who are serious about becoming strong, confident, ethical clinicians and eventually successful independent practice owners.

Not overnight. Not through hustle culture. Not by filling your schedule with random clients and hoping for the best.

We believe in building intentionally, steadily, and sustainably.

The R.E.A.L. Institute is a boutique behavioral health group practice focused on helping people move from chaos to clarity in their relationships, emotional well-being, and lives.

Our work is relational at its core.

We work with children, teens, adults, couples, and families, with a strong emphasis on relationship dynamics, emotional insight, communication patterns, attachment, and personal accountability.

Which means…

We are especially looking for Associates who feel genuinely interested in and emotionally prepared to work with couples.

Couples work is nuanced, challenging, rewarding, and deeply growth-oriented. It requires clinicians who can tolerate complexity, hold neutrality, receive guidance, and continue developing their clinical confidence over time.

You do not need to know everything yet. You do need to be willing to learn.

A Registered Associate in California (AMFT, ASW, or APCC)

Interested in building a long-term career in private practice after licensure

Comfortable working with or growing into work with couples and relationship dynamics

Able to manage your schedule, documentation, communication, and responsibilities professionally and independently

Open to supervision, clinical feedback, consultation, and continued refinement of your skills

Someone who understands that building a strong caseload takes consistency, patience, professionalism, and time

Emotionally mature, reflective, coachable, and capable of balancing autonomy with collaboration

Ready for approximately 25 in-office billable hours per week

Interested in developing both clinical excellence and real-world business understanding

Someone who is not looking for instant full-time caseloads without the patience to build them

Someone resistant to feedback, structure, or clinical guidance

Someone who wants complete independence before developing the skills required to sustain it

Someone hoping to "clock in and clock out" without investing in long-term professional growth

Our goal is not to keep you employed forever.

Our goal is to help you become so clinically capable and professionally prepared that one day you no longer need to work for someone else; you can be your own boss in your own private practice.

From the beginning, we help Associates understand: • How to build and retain a caseload • How to create meaningful therapeutic relationships • How to navigate insurance-based private practice • How to develop professional confidence and boundaries • How to sustain a fulfilling career without burning yourself into the ground

This is not sink-or-swim private practice culture.

This is guided development with increasing autonomy over time.

Weekly individual and group supervision that is engaged, supportive, and clinically meaningful

Ongoing mentorship in both therapy and private practice development

Starting pay of $35/hour with regular increases tied to growth and consistency

A beautiful, thoughtfully designed office environment in Folsom, close to walking trails and coffee shops

A team culture that values authenticity, humor, accountability, collaboration, and kindness

A realistic pathway toward building a sustainable future in private practice

We are not looking for perfection.

We are looking for clinicians at the beginning of their journey who are humble enough to learn, motivated enough to grow, and grounded enough to understand that meaningful careers are built over time.

If that sounds like you, we would genuinely love to meet you.

Apply now and let's build something REAL together.