The clinician-led practice is the new platform.
Why the next decade of behavioral health belongs to owner-operators — not roll-ups.
Trenton Walker · Jun 12 · 9 min read
The Waiting Room · Vol. IV · Issue 41
Conversations for behavioral health founders.
Long-form interviews, field notes, founder essays, and gatherings — published by Kindwell. Free to read.
Featured · Episode 41 · 52 minWhat I'd tell my younger self
What I'd tell my younger self
about scaling a practice.
Jennifer sits down with Laurel Thornton — twenty-five years at Beacon Mental Health — on building a clinician-first culture, refusing the wrong buyers, and the decision to finally find a long-term home.
This weekWhat founders are
What founders are
reading right now.
Essay - Spotlight
Riverstone Associates · Denver.
Three years into a growth partnership, Dr. Kari Sandoz has doubled clinicians and kept the seat.
The Waiting Room · Jun 09 · 6 min read
Field Notes What founders get wrong about valuation.
Eight assumptions that quietly shrink the number — and what to do about them.
Jennifer · Jun 05 · 7 min read
- Interview
Dr. Maya Park on selling without disappearing.
Two years post-close at Halo Mental Health, in her own words.
Founder Conversations · May 30 · 11 min read
Recurring columnsWhat you can count on,
What you can count on,
every issue.
- Weekly
Field Notes
Short observations from the field — what we're hearing on the first call.
- Monthly
Founder Essays
Long-form pieces by behavioral health founders, edited but not ghost-written.
- Bi-weekly
Operator Notes
Practical playbooks from the operators who run the practices we work with.
- Quarterly
Post-close Diaries
Founders six, twelve, and twenty-four months after joining Kindwell.
- Monthly
The Reading List
Books, papers, and longreads circulating through the Kindwell ecosystem.
- Once a year
The Annual Letter
What we built, what we learned, and where the firm is heading next.
Founder perspectives
In their own words.
"What I'd protect first if I were starting over."
Dr. Sara KimFounder, Anchor Therapy · Brooklyn
"The hire that finally let me stop being the operator."
Dr. Devon WrightFounder, Cypress Health · Atlanta
"Why we said no to three offers before this one."
Dr. Allison ParkFounder, Northbay Behavioral · Oakland
“You learn very fast who is in the room to write a check and who is in the room to understand the practice.”
Practice spotlightsThe practices behind
The practices behind
the Continuum.
Events · In rooms, not just inboxes
The next gatherings.
- Sep 18Boston
Founder Dinner
A small evening with three Kindwell founders. By invitation, ~16 seats.
- Oct 02Denver
Operating roundtable · Hiring & retention
On the record. Four operators, one moderator, three hours, no slides.
- Oct 24Brooklyn
The clinician seat · A workshop
For supervisors and clinical directors. Two days at the Kindwell studio.
- Nov 14Virtual
The Annual Continuum
A half-day for behavioral health owners. Free, recorded, open to founders.
- Dec 03San Francisco
Labs night · The future of independent practice
Three Kindwell Labs portfolio teams in conversation with founders.
The archiveEvery issue,
Every issue,
from the beginning.
The newsletterOne letter, every other Friday.
One letter, every other Friday.
For people who actually run practices.
Field notes, one founder essay, and the most useful thing we learned that week. No fluff, no pop-ups, no upsell.
The Waiting Room · A media platform
The trade publication behavioral health didn't have.
Free to read, free to listen, free to attend. The relationship is the point.