Clinical Career Opportunity

Affirming Therapy Center is interviewing for full-time and part-time clinicians!

 

Affirming Therapy Center in San Diego, CA is excited to hire our next California Licensed or Pre-Licensed Mental Health Professional!

Are you a psychotherapist with special interests and training in sex therapy, couples / relationship therapy, kink, and non-monogamy?

Affirming Therapy Center (ATC) is a growing group practice and is seeking mental health professionals to join the team. ATC specializes in serving communities of gender, sexual, and relationship diversity (GSRD), including LGBTQ, kink, fetish, polyamory, swingers, other non-monogamy, and adult industry professionals. Above all, we are looking for therapists with a desire to serve – in a non-judgmental, open, and affirming way – sexual-minority communities and clients who have sexual health concerns.

We offer a great opportunity to experience private practice with help and support from a wonderful group of clinical and administrative professionals. Affirming Therapy Center supports and encourages a healthy work/life balance for our employees. We pride ourselves on our fun, supportive, and inclusive culture.

We are currently hiring both full-time and part-time W-2 clinicians. Both positions include employee benefits, administrative support, paid consultation, and opportunities for professional growth, with additional benefits available to full-time employees. Full-time clinicians build their caseload over time before transitioning to the ongoing caseload expectations, while part-time clinicians maintain a smaller ongoing caseload. Whether you’re looking to build a full caseload or maintain a flexible part-time schedule, we encourage you to apply if our mission and clinical focus align with your professional goals.

Our ideal candidate has specialized knowledge, training, and passion for working with kink/BDSM and polyamory/ethical non-monogamy, Couples / Relationship Therapy (using Emotionally Focused Therapy), and Sex Therapy.

Employees will work toward building a sustainable caseload based on the position they are hired for.

Full-Time Clinicians: 15–25 clinical sessions per week (15 sessions per week minimum).

Part-Time Clinicians: 6–14 clinical sessions per week.

Compensation

Clinicians are W-2 employees. Compensation is the same for both full-time and part-time clinicians and is provided for clinical time and administrative time worked.

Benefits vary based on employment status.

Employment Status

Part-Time Position

• Expected caseload of 6–14 clinical sessions per week.
• Designed for clinicians seeking a reduced clinical schedule while remaining actively engaged with the practice.
• Part-time clinicians are eligible for the Part-Time Benefits Program.
• If a part-time clinician consistently averages 15 or more clinical sessions per week after the initial onboarding period, the position may transition to full-time status so that workload, expectations, and benefits remain aligned.

Full-Time Position

• Expected caseload of 15–25 clinical sessions per week.
• Full-time clinicians are eligible for the Full-Time Benefits Program.
• As clinicians build toward a full caseload, they are expected to gradually increase their availability to support client scheduling, networking, training, consultation, outreach, and other professional responsibilities.

Licensed position

• $60 per Clinical Hour
• $21 per Admin/Non-Clinical Hour

Associate position

• $45 per Clinical Hour
• $21 per Admin/Non-Clinical Hour

For each position, sessions are compensated with an additional $10 per couple / relationship / family session and $10 for each evening or weekend session.

Benefits of Becoming an Affirming Therapy Center Therapist

All clinicians receive the following benefits:

• Advantages of collaborating and working in a group of sex-positive clinicians
• Hybrid model of Telehealth and In-Person
• Opportunity to work remotely from the comfort of your own home or office when clinically appropriate
• Office internet
• Dedicated cell phone
• Dedicated laptop
• Access to Simple Practice (an EHR system)
• Managed Psychology Today and other directory profiles
• Professional headshot

Part-Time Benefits Program:

• Furnished office for one day per week (optional)
• Paid GSRD-related training (annual training benefit stipend)
• Paid networking program
• Paid team consultation meetings
• Longevity bonus
• Paid sick leave
• Retirement benefits

Full-Time Benefits Program:

• Furnished office for one to two days per week (optional)
• Paid Annual membership in AASECT and ICEEFT
• Paid GSRD-related training (annual training benefit stipend)
• Paid networking program
• Paid team consultation meetings
• Longevity bonus
• Performance bonus
• Paid sick leave
• Paid time off
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Retirement benefits
• Monthly AASECT supervision (if appropriate)

Clinician’s profiles are included on our website and on various online directories. Some client referrals are expected but not guaranteed. Professional networking is required to help build your referral network.

Note: We do not hire clinicians who want to work simultaneously as a psychotherapist at another practice (whether it is your own business, another group practice, or an agency).

Building a Caseload

We recognize that developing a full caseload takes time. Newly hired clinicians—particularly those joining in a full-time role—will gradually build their caseload over the first several months while engaging in other paid responsibilities such as documentation, consultation, networking, outreach, training, and professional development.

We hope that our clinicians see this as a career opportunity, not just another job! As such, we invest in our clinicians’ career goals, as we strive to offer 5-star service to our clients and to our employees.

Clients are private pay and out-of-network. Billing is handled primarily by ATC management.

Qualifications

• Licensed Mental Health Professional (LMFT, LCSW, LPCC, or Psychologist) via California Board of Behavioral Sciences, or;
• Registered Associate Mental Health Professional (AMFT, ASW, or APCC) via California Board of Behavioral Sciences with a minimum of 1,000 completed hours toward licensure.
• Experience and additional training in Couple’s Therapy, including Emotionally Focused Therapy. EFT Externship and Core Skills Training are highly recommended in order to work with relationship therapy clients.
• Advanced training in Sex Therapy principles and interventions.
• Specialized knowledge, training, and passion for working with kink/BDSM and polyamory/ethical non-monogamy.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities vary slightly based on employment status; however, all clinicians participate in consultation, documentation, and team culture.

• Meet with adult individuals and relationships for outpatient psychotherapy in accordance with your training and areas of expertise.
• Complete intake notes and progress notes, billing, and scheduling after each session.
• Ensure proper charting is completed on the day service is rendered.
• Attend weekly case consultation meetings (online).
• Attend monthly in-person team meetings, and up to 2 in-person networking or training meetings per month.

This is a great position for someone who wants to experience working with clientele from GSRD communities. It is not a good fit for an entrepreneur looking to start their own private practice; if this is you, let us know and we’re happy to help you in other ways.

Affirming Therapy Center is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. We provide employment opportunities without regard to age, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.

How to Apply

Please submit a cover letter and a résumé or CV to Careers@AffirmingTherapyCenter.com.

If you meet all the qualifications listed above, please include answers to the following questions:

1a. Please indicate your current credential with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS).

(LMFT, LCSW, LPCC, AMFT, ACSW, or APCC)

1b. If you are currently an Associate (AMFT, ACSW, or APCC), approximately how many supervised hours have you completed toward California licensure?

2. What most piqued your interest about this position, and what do you hope to gain from it?

3. What does sex-positivity mean to you?

4. Do you have experience working with Gender, Sexual, and Relationship Diverse (GSRD) populations?
If so, please describe your work, including the length of your experience, your primary modality, and what you find most fulfilling about working with these populations.

5. How do you approach working with clients whose identities, values, political views, relationship structures, or life experiences are different from your own?
Please include how you approach maintaining respect, curiosity, and a client-centered stance in situations where perspectives may feel unfamiliar or challenging.

6. Please describe any ways you have been engaged with LGBTQ, kink/BDSM, non-monogamy, or other GSRD communities beyond direct client care.
This might include organizations, conferences, community events, volunteer work, education, writing, lived experience, or other relevant involvement that has influenced your interest in working with these populations.

7. How comfortable are you with professional networking with other mental health providers to build referral relationships, collaboration, and clinical visibility?

8. Please indicate your level of Emotionally Focused Therapy training.
(Externship? Core Skills? Additional workshops?)

9. Are you a kink-knowledgeable professional?
If so, please describe relevant education, readings, trainings, research, and clinical experience in this area.

10. Are you a non-monogamy-informed professional (including polyamory, open relationships, swinging/lifestyle)?
If so, please describe relevant education, readings, trainings, research, and clinical experience in this area.

11. Which of the following areas are you genuinely interested in receiving additional training in?
Please indicate Yes, No, or Already Experienced for each area:

• Kink/BDSM
• Non-Monogamy
• Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for Relationship Therapy
• Sex Therapy

12. Are you interested in becoming an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist (CST)?

13. What types of clients are you most comfortable working with? What types feel least comfortable for you?

14. What are you most excited to contribute to Affirming Therapy Center if you join the team?

15. What are your professional goals over the next 2–5 years?

16. Do you hope to open your own private practice in the future?
☐ Yes
☐ No
☐ Unsure
Please share more about your long-term career direction. For example, do you envision building your career within a group practice, opening a private practice, working in another clinical setting, or pursuing a different path? What appeals to you about that direction?

17. Which employment opportunity are you most interested in?
☐ Part-Time (6–14 clinical sessions per week on average.)
☐ Full-Time (build toward 15–25 clinical sessions per week; once established at 15+ sessions/week, this becomes a 40-hour/week position over five days that includes clinical work, documentation, consultation, networking, outreach, training, and other professional responsibilities.)
☐ I would like to be considered for either opportunity.
Regardless of your selection above, what is your preferred “sweet spot” for direct client sessions per week (your ideal sustainable range)?

18. What is your availability for clinical appointments?
Please include your preferred days and times for seeing clients (telehealth and/or in-person), along with any scheduling limitations you would like us to know about.

19. Are you available to attend in-person team meetings at our San Diego office 1–3 times per month?