Hi, We are

A L I G N .

“If you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to turn around and empower somebody else.” —Toni Morrison

We’re not just another group practice.

Align was created by Melanie Storrusten, LCSW in 2016 out of a desire to make something to live in the spaces between clinical psychotherapy and holistic and integrative healing arts - to return to the art and spirit of therapeutic work, that can sometimes be stomped on by institutions and systems that have grown too big. To offer the healing she’d experienced packaged in a way others could access, while maintaining the wholeness, integrity, and depth of those practices. To escape from an exploitive system that sought solely to extract value from clients in need of care and the workers providing it. This quote by Toni Morrison sums up the whole of our “why.” Clinicians and holistic practitioners at Align have done and continue to do our own work and have a desire to witness others benefit the way that we have. As a leader, Melanie seeks to challenge the status quo of the capitalist machine in our small corner of the world - first for herself, and now by building organizational foundations upon which therapists can grow in more liberated ways. And free and supported therapists can do their best work with you.

We Are:

  • Integrative

    A lot of people use this word, but here is what we mean when we say integrative: We utilize traditional methodologies and complementary techniques to best serve each individual client. Specifically, you’ll see a lot of yoga and meditative practices here, and we are open to therapists bringing their own flavor of research-backed offerings.

  • Holistic

    Another buzzword that’s so prevalent it’s beginning to lose its meaning, holistic, to us, means: taking into account and treating the whole person - physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, sexual, relational, and so on. If some aspect of the whole of you is outside of our expertise, we have a rolodex of trusted folks we collaborate with. Our practice leans especially into the spiritual, and we love working with folks with alternative spiritualities, explorers, skeptics, deconstructors, and those with religious trauma.

  • Systems-based

    I see this as a continuation of holistic care. Our conceptualization of you and the problems you bring to our office doesn’t end at the boundaries of you. It is connected to all of the systems you’re a part of - your family, your ancestors, your community, your religion, your political affiliation, your race, gender, sexuality, nationality, ability/disability, your inherited traumas, your participation in our society that is colonialist, capitalist, racist, sexist, ableist, and all the other -ists and -phobics. These things all contribute to your lived experience, and that is crucial to understand in order to help you thrive.

  • Present Moment-Oriented

    Somatic, Emotion-focused, Bottom-up, Here-and-now Processing. While these are all distinct concepts, they all point to a similar approach and goal: to utilize physical sensations in the present moment to access layers of healing underneath the thinking and analyzing parts of the mind.

    We want everyone on our team to be trained in at least one way to do this work, and it is our general orientation towards therapeutic work.

  • Trauma-focused

    We see many mental health symptoms through a trauma-focused lens. As Oprah popularized, the question is “what happened to you?” not “what’s wrong with you?”

    We love hiring folks who are already trained in at least one modality for deep trauma work.

  • Social Justice-Minded

    Founded by a social worker, a radical commitment to social justice is embedded into our identity. From our seat as therapists, we can embody these values by working to de-colonize our work and keeping an eye towards the destructive and oppressive systems at play in our client’s lives. You will also see these values in action in our forging community bonds with partner organizations, advocacy and mutual aid to causes tied to our work, commitment to ongoing training to better serve marginalized communities, and our prioritizing sliding scale rates for trans and BIPOC clients.

  • Inclusive

    We are committed to being a place where everyone is accepted and affirmed. We are a diversity-loving, LGBTQ-affirming, body-positive and sex-positive practice. Your non-traditional relationships, alternative spiritualities, multi-cultural and intersectional self is welcome here. We actively pursue our own education in these areas. You will have a therapist to whom you do not have to explain the basics of your identity, and who will not make assumptions based on stereotypes or caricatures. In areas where we are not competent to meet that minimum standard, we will refer you to folks who are.

  • For the Collective

    Psychotherapy is (mostly) an individualized game. And it remains the core of the services we provide. However, we have the strong belief that healing is best done in relationship with others (yes, with your therapist and also more than just your therapist), and that much has been lost in our culture that no longer regularly gathers in community for healing. So, we will continue to offer 1:1 therapy, and we will be growing our offerings working with couples, families, groups, the community at large, and intentional communal practices.

  • Align is currently looking to hire 1-2 fully licensed and associately licensed folks to work in our Atlanta (Tucker) office. We are open to virtual-only providers who are the most excellent fits, but overall we prefer in person work. If you’re interested in working with us, please review the info on this website about our vision, values, and vibe and also the info below about our contract terms. If it feels like a YES to you, please reach out!

  • A group practice is a compromise between having your own business and working for someone else. By contracting with a group practice, you are still a small business yourself (so get your LLC!). Along with the great rewards of private practice - more flexible scheduling, improved work/life balance, independence and autonomy - there is also more responsibility to grow your own caseload, and more risk involved than being an employee at an agency.

    And when you join a group practice, there are also benefits and buffers to those risks. Mainly, that the practice owner is taking on all of the start-up costs and know-how to create the infrastructure for success! Your financial risk is very minimal if you adhere to the terms of your contract.

    Benefits to working at Align are: designated office space/hours, access to an intuitive and easy to use electronic health record, with embedded telehealth platform and optional AI note-taking, insurance credentialing, billing and admin support, internal referrals (we hire slowly and grow one caseload at a time), marketing support, free clinical supervision and consultation, and working in a supportive and values-aligned matriarchal ecosystem.

  • I am up front when making any offers to join our team. I have and share data about fee structures, average length of time to build caseloads, and analyzing each therapist’s own caseload and marketing metrics and identifying opportunities for growth. I am committed to creating win-win-win scenarios that benefit our clients, our therapists, and Align as a whole. I do not view interviews or offers as a sales pitch. I want you to know what to expect and to be very satisfied working here.

    We have a clearly laid out system for earning higher percentage splits.

    I routinely share business and financial data about Align as a whole with our team.

  • We offer lots of room to grow and diversify your offerings. Instead of a traditional, hierarchical org chart, Align is a matriarchal ecosystem.

    We offer many opportunities beyond one on one therapy services, which not only enhance and diversify the services we offer to our community, they also offer some protection from our ever-changing industry and society.

    We are currently building out foundations for new programs, and opportunities for more responsibility and reward at Align include: creating educational content for the community and clinicians, writing essays about topics impacting our core communities, assisting with marketing efforts, clinical research, and creating groups, workshops, and other community events.

    We invite our team to bring their own passions and dreams to the table in ways that align with our vision, values, and vibe. Our core areas of focus are: psychotherapy, building community, purposeful action, and spiritual connection.

  • A contract is a promise we are making to each other.

    If you join our team, I promise to make significant financial, time, and energy investment in you. Most of my investment happens on the front end, as you’re growing a caseload.

    You promise to uphold your end of the deal - to perform above minimum requirements and to stick around long enough for me to recoup my investment and to make some profit.

    Here are some terms of Align contracts that may be different from other group practices:

    • Our contracts have an initial two-year term, and then they renew annually, like an apartment lease. You can leave at the end of any term with 60 days’ notice. You cannot leave before the end of a contract term.

    • If there is an emergency or extenuating circumstance and you must leave prior to the end of your term, that is considered a breach of contract. Instead of court proceedings, Align contracts have what I call our “prenup” clause, in which we agree in advance on a fee for the breach of contract. This is because if you leave without completing your contract term, I have made significant investment with no opportunity to recoup that investment. If you had started your own practice and had to stop working due to emergency, you would lose your investment, which would be significantly more than our early termination fee.

    • Non-compete - while you are working at Align, you may not work anywhere else you are responsible for growing a caseload. Agency employment or other part-time work is allowed and encouraged to supplement your income as you grow your caseload.

    • There are no restrictions once you no longer work at Align, and you are warmly and freely invited to take your caseload with you. We routinely refer to folks we have previously worked with.

    • Bi-weekly clinical supervision is included for free. If space is available in a clinical supervision group, Align therapists may have a spot for free. For fully licensed folks, individual consultation is offered once per month. We meet as a Team once a month, and there are additional informal peer support meetings and communication channels. Align therapists can attend trainings we provide at a discount, and often for free.

    • We have a caseload minimum of 15 clients per week. On average, associates reach that goal within 9 months, and fully licensed folks within 6 months. Most of our clinicians see 20-25 clients per week.

Want to join our team?
Send Melanie your resume

  • Natasha Garland, LPC

    “Melanie’s supportive, authentic, and extremely useful guidance has been instrumental in the development of my clinical ability and confidence.”

  • Matthew Shugart, LPC

    “I’ve always felt heard and understood in consultation. I also think Melanie has a skill for compassion and fairness when it comes to best practices for clinicians and clients. Most of all, I’m a better therapist for having worked with her, and I hope our clients are better for it too.”

  • Daniel Covert, LMSW

    “In comparison to my previous supervisors, who were driven by caseloads and hours billed, Melanie goes out of her way to make sure I understand the underlying struggle the client may be facing, why a certain clinical approach or modality would benefit them, and provides resources for my own study! She also adds practical takeaways and alternative thought processes to the field - which benefit me tremendously!”

  • Megan Nare, ERYT-500

    “From the outset, Melanie has been an incredible source of support and guidance. Her openness to questions and her ability to foster a nurturing environment have allowed me to expand my capacity and knowledge significantly, especially in new or challenging opportunities with clients. Melanie’s support has not been limited to my professional development; she has genuinely cared about my personal growth and well-being as well.”