Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Bourgeois Tessa Vining.
Stephanie Bourgeois, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
In 2023, we — Tessa Vining, LCSW and Stephanie Bourgeois, LCSW — founded the Mind Body Therapy Collective to address a need we saw firsthand: building community in an isolating industry, especially after years of working alone through COVID. Our vision was a space where multidisciplinary therapists and holistic healers could grow, collaborate, and sharpen their skills while remaining fully independent.
Grounded in the neuroscience of mind-body connection, we built the Collective around an integrated approach to mental health — one that weaves traditional therapies together with somatic and holistic practices at the cutting edge of our field, thus offering clients a complementary range of care.
We opened our office in the heart of Montclair, New Jersey in February 2024, and have grown steadily ever since. Today, over 28 psychotherapists and holistic healers work through the Collective, offering an extensive range of modalities: EMDR—Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing , IFS—Internal Family Systems, Somatic Experiencing, Brainspotting, DBT, CBT, Art Therapy, Dance Therapy, Equine-Assisted Therapy, Horticulture Therapy, EFT —Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples, Hypnotherapy, Ketamine-Assisted Therapy, Mindfulness, Sandtray Therapy, Rubenfeld Synergy, and more. Our members also include a massage therapist, a master-level Reiki healer, and a craniosacral therapist. We serve people of all ages through individual, couples, family, and group therapy.
Beyond clinical work, we regularly host community events — i.e. breathwork, crystal bowl healing, meditation, Reiki circles, pranic healing training, day-long retreats, and therapy groups to name a few. These are open to clients, members and the broader public alike.
Central to our success is our business model: Collective members pay a membership fee but they work for themselves, not for us. We take no portion of their income, require no non-compete, and place no restrictions on outside work. Members set their own schedules, fees, and systems. We lead collaboratively, not top-down — because we believe the real power lies in sharing our individual gifts toward a larger purpose.
What began as a dream to build something different has become exactly that: a thriving, warm, dedicated community bringing evidence-based clinical modalities and holistic healing to the people we serve.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Our growth has been a true blessing. Because this business model is uncommon in the psychotherapeutic world, we’ve had to chart our own course — figuring out how to structure and run the Collective in a way that meets our goals as business owners, supports our members’ professional and personal growth, and delivers a high level of service to clients and the broader community. It has been a process of learning as we go: listening to member feedback, building our brand through outreach, educating the community about what makes our model unique, and earning our reputation one relationship at a time.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our collaborative rather than top-down model has been central to our success. Because membership is voluntary and all practitioners work for themselves, we attract talented, experienced professionals who choose to be here and are often experts in their field. Part of our mission is also to create a space where members can gather and find healing for themselves too; thus our members benefit from each other’s expertise. Within the group, we support one another’s growth and expand each other’s scope of practice — not by dictating, but by communicating, uplifting, and sharing. Our members are authentic, deeply committed to their work, and consistently deliver high-quality care — all of which has been instrumental in building the Collective’s strong reputation. We are well equipped to help anyone seeking healing, but we are particularly well equipped to healing trauma.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Our unique collaborative model
Pricing:
- Our website offers a beautiful snapshot of what the Collective is all about. We also provide pricing information and the perks to becoming a Collective Member.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mindbodytherapycollective.com
- Instagram: MindBodyNJ
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Mind-Body-Therapy-Collective/61556110993531/
- LinkedIn: none
- Twitter: none
- Youtube: none
- Yelp: none
- Soundcloud: none
- Other: none
