As mental health professionals, we live at the intersection of service and survival—caring for clients while trying to sustain ourselves. The Contemplative Mental Health Leadership Group (CMHLG) challenges you to view our work from a position of abundance vs. scarcity. In our group, we’re sitting with a familiar tension: how to differentiate your work without isolating yourself from others doing similar work. Our session on May 22nd 2025, Community Collaboration and Competition, invites us to explore personal and professional alignment while rooting ourselves in community care and shared vision.

Owning Your Uniqueness Without Isolation

It’s tempting to feel like we need to “stand out” to be successful, especially in areas saturated with therapists like Boulder, Colorado. But the truth is, your presence is already unique. The question isn’t how to market louder—it’s how to align more deeply with the parts of your work that are most alive.

Activity: Start by writing down three things that set your work apart. It could be something concrete—like being trained in EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, or Internal Family Systems (IFS). Or it could be more relational: your capacity to hold spiritual complexity, your understanding of cultural nuance, or your lived experience with disability or caregiving.

Consider how these qualities are meeting unmet needs. If your work includes supporting dementia caregivers, for example, highlight that. If you offer nature-based or expressive therapies like Brush With Grief, name that clearly. These aren’t just brand points—they’re the roots of your relational ecosystem. Your work fills gaps, not just seats.

When you present your specialties clearly, others in your network will better understand how to refer to you and when. You don’t need to compete for every case—you need to show up clearly for the ones that align.

Turning Competition into Collaboration

One of the simplest ways to reduce a competitive mindset is to name where you feel it show up—and then transform it.

Activity: Take one area where competition feels real: maybe it’s grief groups, private pay therapy, or adolescent support. Now imagine how you could invite partnership instead of push away connection.

Reach out to another provider who offers similar work. Could you share a referral list? Run a shared workshop? Collaborate on a resource guide or blog post? If you both work with grief but use different modalities—say, one is art-based and the other uses somatic practices—those differences are an asset.

Look at what’s working locally. Organizations like Medicine Horse in Boulder or The Natural Funeral have shown what’s possible through partnership. Each is offering something distinct, yet they remain connected through community-centered models. This kind of reciprocity reduces burnout and increases reach.

Outside of Colorado, look to collaborative national networks like The Collective for Radical Death Studies or Inclusive Therapists, which embody the ethos of mutual growth and sharing. These spaces model ways of partnering that center shared vision and justice.

Values That Anchor Us

A community-centered practice starts with community-centered values.

Activity: List three values that keep you focused on connection rather than competition. Maybe it’s generosity—offering resources without expectation. Or mutual support—showing up at another provider’s event. Or transparency—naming when a collaboration isn’t the right fit, but leaving the door open for future work.

These values should be personal and practical. They’re the reason you return a phone call. They are the reason you are typing a blog out at 11:14 pm on a Wednesday night. They are reason you refer out when you’re full. The reason you cheer when a colleague opens a new practice or lands a great workshop contract.

Activity: Write a values statement for yourself: “I believe in showing up fully and generously, sharing what I can, and trusting that when the work is aligned, the right people will find it.”

Revisit your values quarterly or at the turn of each season, allowing them to evolve with your practice and deepen your sense of purpose within your community.

Sharing Resources Strengthens Everyone

Collaboration starts with what you already have. Look at your digital files—worksheets, recorded audio, book recommendations, your old syllabus from a class that transformed your life, or a list of resources you have been meaning to revisit. These are not just tools; they’re openings. Adapt them to a new purpose. Make use of what you already are invested in.

If you’ve written something like this 30 Referral Sources for Counselors, share it with peers. Don’t sit idly by and if you do allow that to be a guiding light to others in darkness. If you’ve had good experiences with directories like Psychology Today or Open Path Collective, pass that along to others.

You might also consider participating in networks like Mental Health Colorado or listing your services on TherapyDen, which centers inclusive and affirming care. Find the resources local to you. If you work with seniors start by finding out who the others service providers in your area are by visiting Elder Care Locator. If you work with veterans try find out who your local VFW or American Legion Commander is. Sharing these tools benefits your colleagues, strengthens your community’s access to care, and increases your visibility.

Planning for Purposeful Partnership

Try mapping out three potential partnerships. These don’t have to be dramatic. Maybe it’s the yoga teacher down the street who wants to offer trauma-informed classes. Maybe it’s a funeral home interested in grief support. Maybe it’s a school counselor needing a resource for overwhelmed parents.

Activity: Take 15 minutes and sketch out a partnership proposal. Who does what? What are the shared goals? How is this a service to the community? If you’re unsure how to begin, revisit examples like our Family Emergency Planning Clinics or look at how others create low-barrier points of access like Sliding Scale Therapy Collective.

If you’re not ready to partner yet, commit to attending one new event or reaching out to one new provider this month. Small acts build long-term partnerships.

Boundaries Help the Work Stay Clean

We’ve all had moments when collaboration turned into confusion—unclear roles, unequal labor, mismatched values. That’s why boundaries are part of healthy partnerships.

If you’ve felt tension around referrals, scheduling, or service overlap, take a moment to reflect. Where do you need more clarity? Where could you initiate a conversation before discomfort builds?

Activity: Write down three boundary strategies. These could be as simple as “confirm expectations in writing,” “be clear on scheduling policies,” or “name limitations up front.” Boundaries don’t push people away—they hold the collaboration with integrity.

Knowing your limits allows you to collaborate from a place of strength and self-respect, which benefits everyone involved.

Events Build Trust in the Long-Term

You can’t collaborate if no one knows you exist. Build a community calendar of upcoming local events—Boulder Public Library programming, CEU meetups, health fairs, grief circles. Set an intention for each one: meet a new therapist, share your card, or introduce someone else.

Be present at events hosted by organizations like Colorado Counseling Association or Boulder County Area Agency on Aging, both of which often offer training, outreach events, and caregiver-focused gatherings.

Active participation isn’t just about networking—it’s about relational depth. When we keep showing up, we build a shared sense of belonging.

Write It Down: Agreements Matter

As your partnerships deepen, draft a basic collaboration agreement. Include roles, communication frequency, client confidentiality expectations, and cancellation policies. Use this as a starting place—each agreement will be different—but the act of putting it on paper sets a tone of mutual care and shared responsibility.

Consider having different templates ready for co-facilitated workshops, resource-sharing, and cross-referral systems. If you’re interested in formalizing this more, look at the collaborative models used in integrated care teams, or study collective impact frameworks.

Clear agreements preserve relationships, especially in high-stakes or long-term projects.

Theoretical Foundations for Mutual Growth

Behind this work is theory. Mutual Aid Theory, which comes from anarchist and abolitionist traditions, teaches us that care is not transactional—it is reciprocal. When we give freely and receive with openness, the whole system strengthens.

Social Exchange Theory reminds us that relationships flourish when there’s a balance of give-and-take. And Community Psychology emphasizes empowerment, shared voice, and non-hierarchical collaboration.

We are not just service providers—we are community members building culture. And the quality of our connections directly impacts the quality of care.

Final Reflections

This month, take one action rooted in collaboration. Send a resource to a colleague. Reach out for a joint workshop. Start a community calendar. Draft a referral agreement.

The CMHLG is not just a space to refine our practice—it’s a space to remember we’re not alone. As we build systems that honor connection, clarity, and care, we begin to transform what private practice can mean in our communities.

We move from survival to shared purpose. From competition to collaboration. And from isolation to interdependence.

See you tomorrow at 10:00 am MST on 5/22/25.