A group-rate therapy benefit for California solo and small firms.
Solo and small-firm lawyers run the whole practice, carry the same stress as BigLaw with none of the infrastructure, and rarely have a benefit worth the name, and most will not use a bar program for fear of who might find out. CEREVITY gives solo and small firms a confidential, private-pay therapy benefit at a group rate, matched by hand and delivered so that nothing routes through any firm health plan.
What CEREVITY is.
A nationwide network of independent licensed clinicians, offered at a group rate to solo and small-firm lawyers.
CEREVITY is a nationwide network of independent licensed clinicians providing private-pay therapy by secure telehealth across all 50 states. It is not an app, not a coaching marketplace, and not an employee assistance program. Each lawyer is matched by hand to a clinician who understands high-pressure professional work, and keeps that clinician over time.
For a small firm, the model is simple to reason about. Care is private-pay with no insurance claim filed, so nothing routes through any firm health plan and no claim record is created. A group rate makes the same premium, confidential care that large firms buy accessible to practices that could never staff a benefit like it alone.
CEREVITY runs the same structure across the profession, from a firm-wide lawyer assistance program for California firms to specialized panels for practices like California litigation boutiques. The solo and small-firm version is built to make that reach affordable.Why solo and small-firm lawyers are different.
The pressure on a small-firm lawyer is not less than BigLaw's, and the support around it is far thinner.
A solo or small-firm lawyer is the associate, the partner, the rainmaker, and the back office at once, carrying the same adversarial work with none of the cushion. The profession's data on the mental health crisis in law applies to them as much as anyone, often more.
This is established, not speculative, as our summary of what the ABA research shows makes clear.
of licensed lawyers reported experiencing significant stress, and solo and small-firm lawyers carry it with the least support. Source: American Bar Association and Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, 2016 (Krill et al., Journal of Addiction Medicine).
In California, the cost of practice and the cost of living sharpen it further, which is why we offer therapy for California attorneys managing high-stakes stress.
A bar-run program or a generic plan is structurally mismatched to this problem, and most small firms have nothing else. Lawyers rarely use what exists, both because the format does not fit and because they fear that reaching out could reach the bar, a fear documented in our note on why so many lawyers fear therapy ends a career. The need goes unmet quietly, which is the most expensive way for it to go unmet.
What small-firm lawyers actually bring to the work.
The presenting issues behind the practice, in the language of the small firm.
The whole practice on you
When you are the firm, every problem is yours and there is no one to hand it to. That weight is close to what we treat in managing partner stress, without the firm behind you.
Eat what you kill
Income tracks hours directly, so the pressure to bill never eases and rest always costs something. Working with that specific load is the focus of therapy for lawyers facing billable-hour burnout.
Anxiety as baseline
The adversarial nature of the work keeps the nervous system on alert long after the day ends, close to the pattern we treat in anxiety in trial attorneys.
Fine on the surface
Small-firm lawyers cannot look shaken in front of clients they depend on, so real depression stays hidden. This is the territory of high-functioning depression in lawyers.
The bar looming
Concern about state bar reporting keeps some lawyers from care they need. The reality is narrower than the worry, as our note on therapy and state bar reporting concerns explains.
Is this the job I wanted
Disillusionment is common when the work stops matching the reason someone entered law. That quiet reckoning is the subject of therapy for lawyers who have come to hate the job.
Who ends up leaving
The attrition is not evenly distributed, and small firms lose good lawyers who never got support. The data on female attorneys leaving law over mental health is a clear example.
Why it runs so deep
The pattern is structural, not personal, which is part of why lawyers experience higher rates of depression than comparable professions.
The solo lawyer answers to the client, the court, and the bar. No one in that chain is there to ask how the lawyer is doing.
Session formats built for a full docket.
Three lengths, no rigid weekly slot.
The steady cadence of ongoing therapy. Most clients spend most of their care in 50-minute sessions.
For work that needs more room than a standard hour can hold. See 90-minute sessions.
For work that needs uninterrupted time to reach resolution. See 3-hour therapy intensives.
Care is delivered in 50-minute, 90-minute, and 3-hour sessions by secure telehealth, nationwide. A lawyer can do focused work in a single 90-minute or 3-hour block on a lighter day rather than forcing a standing weekly appointment that a hearing will break. Modality is matched at intake rather than assigned, and the lawyer keeps the same clinician throughout. When the situation is urgent, same-week access is the norm rather than the exception.
Give small-firm lawyers the support BigLaw takes for granted.
A confidential conversation about a group-rate benefit takes one call. Nothing about it touches any firm health plan.
Start a partnership conversationHow a lawyer is matched.
Every lawyer is matched by hand, not by an algorithm running against an intake form. Matching is reviewed by CEREVITY's clinical leadership, with the lawyer's practice, schedule, and preferences weighed before any introduction is made.
The eligible individual submits a confidential intake form covering presenting issues, modality preference, professional context, and scheduling parameters. Operated by CEREVITY directly, not by a broker.
Intake is reviewed by CEREVITY's clinical leadership against the network's active capacity, current licensure footprint, and modality availability. This is the step that does not exist in an EAP. You can review the clinicians in the network directly.
A specific clinician is matched to the lawyer, who receives the match with the clinician's profile, modality, and credentials, plus a direct online scheduling link. If you are doing this for someone else, see how to find a therapist for your CEO.
Scheduling runs directly through CEREVITY infrastructure with no phone handoff. First sessions are typically scheduled within 5 to 10 business days of the match.
Care continues on the cadence the clinical work requires, in 50-minute, 90-minute, or 3-hour sessions, without an employer-imposed session cap.
Capability comparison for California solo and small firms.
An evaluation framework on the dimensions that matter when scoping a group-rate benefit. All three models have a place; they are built for different populations.
| Dimension | Typical EAP | Executive-tier platform | CEREVITY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Network model | Broker layer between employer and contractor roster | Single-vendor platform, W-2 or contracted pool | Independent clinical network with direct relationships |
| Clinician assignment | First contractor to reply with availability | Algorithmic matching on intake-form inputs | Clinical review by network leadership |
| Intake and scheduling | Phone handoff to the clinician's line | App-based intake and scheduling | Network-operated intake, direct online scheduling |
| Session formats | Standard 50-minute, capped session counts | Standard 45 to 50-minute sessions | 50-minute, 90-minute, and 3-hour formats, no cap |
| Clinical scope | Acute, broadly applicable concerns | Workforce-wide, executive tier as an upsell | Built around the presenting issues of lawyers |
| Modality fit | Generalist talk therapy | Generalist therapy with some specialty | CBT, DBT, psychodynamic, IFS, matched at intake |
| Reach | National via roster density | National telehealth, roster variance | All 50 states via telehealth |
| Payment model | Employer-sponsored, in network | Per-employee-per-month seat pricing | Private pay, out of network, partnership agreement |
| Firm visibility | Aggregate, broker-mediated | Vendor dashboards with engagement metrics | Administrative reporting only |
| Right fit for | Workforce-wide acute support | Mid-tier ongoing care with an executive add-on | California solo and small firms, end to end |
If you are running a formal evaluation, our notes on what to look for in a private therapy provider cover the procurement side in detail.
What the firm sees, and what it does not.
For a group-rate benefit to work, the lawyer has to trust that using it creates no visibility into their care, and no exposure to the bar. CEREVITY is built around that requirement.
- Confirmation that contracted services were provided to eligible individuals.
- Aggregate utilization at the partnership level, where contractually appropriate.
- Invoicing and eligibility reconciliation.
- Nothing tied to a specific named lawyer's clinical content.
- Whether a specific named lawyer has scheduled, attended, or engaged.
- What clinical issues are being addressed, or which clinician is assigned.
- Session notes, treatment plans, or diagnostic information.
- Any attendance detail at the individual level.
Clinicians are independent licensed professionals operating under their own licensure and the confidentiality and privacy obligations that attach to it. Protected health information is held within the clinical infrastructure, and the agreements governing it are defined in writing before the partnership goes live. Our notice of privacy practices and privacy policy are published in full.
Clinical records, session content, and individual engagement data sit inside the clinical platform. The administrative layer the partner interacts with is structurally separate from the clinical layer. Further context on why this matters to this population: private-pay therapy and confidentiality.
Eligibility lists are maintained on the partner side and confirmed at the point of intake. Administering eligibility does not require the partner to receive clinical information back.
A Business Associate Agreement is executed where the partnership structure requires it, and whether one applies is a determination made with counsel rather than assumed. The partnership agreement defines the administrative reporting scope in writing before anything goes live. See also our terms of service.
Lawyers in particular ask about downstream exposure before they will engage at all. The question that comes up most is whether therapy shows up on a background check, and it is answered directly on our site.
What the first 30 days look like.
The hardest part of a attorney-tier partnership is not the contract. It is the period between signature and the first lawyer in care.
A 60-minute kickoff with your team and CEREVITY's partnership lead. We confirm the partnership shape, the eligibility model, the administrative reporting scope, and the internal owner. The BAA, where applicable, is executed.
Your team provides the eligible-individual list. CEREVITY confirms it against the network and establishes the verification path at intake. Only eligibility confirmation flows forward.
CEREVITY provides a confidential, attorney-tier comms template explaining the benefit, the privacy posture, and how to access intake. It is written to be received without stigma, which matters given why discretion is the deciding factor for CEOs in the first place.
Eligible individuals begin intake on their own cadence. First sessions are typically scheduled within 5 to 10 business days. By day 30 the partnership is operational and a quarterly review cadence is in place.
The business case for the firm.
Continuity, sustained performance, and affordability are the levers, and for a small practice a single lawyer's collapse is the whole firm's problem.
Continuity of the practice
In a small firm there is no bench, so a lawyer's burnout or absence threatens the practice directly. Confidential clinical care reaches the lawyers least likely to ask, part of how any organization thinks about retaining high-value people.
Sustained performance
Judgment, focus, and reliability degrade under chronic, unmanaged stress, and burnout's impact on productivity is measurable well before a lawyer steps back. Care that addresses the underlying pattern protects the work and the client relationships the firm lives on.
Affordable and real
A group rate turns premium, confidential care into something a small firm can actually offer, which signals seriousness to recruits and pairs naturally with formal therapist referral programs.
Questions small-firm owners ask first.
How does a group rate work for a small firm?
The group rate makes the same private-pay clinical care that large firms buy available to solo and small practices at a scale that fits them. Structure is set in the partnership conversation, and firms can sponsor it fully or offer it as a subsidized benefit. The point is to make premium, confidential care affordable without an in-house benefits team.
How is confidentiality protected for our lawyers?
Care is private pay, so no insurance claim is filed and nothing routes through any firm health plan. There is no claim record for a benefits administrator, an insurer, or the firm to access, and nothing is reported to the bar. Sessions remain between the lawyer and the licensed clinician, who is bound by their own licensure confidentiality obligations.
Which lawyers are typically covered?
Scope is defined in the partnership agreement. Most small firms cover every lawyer in the practice across practice areas, including specialties such as those we support in criminal defense, and some include staff. The scope is designed to fit the whole practice.
Is this the same as the counseling in a bar program?
No. Bar-program and EAP counseling is typically short-term and generic, and lawyers avoid it for fear of exposure. CEREVITY is ongoing, matched clinical care with a clinician who understands the professional context, and nothing routes through the bar. Continuity with the same clinician is the point.
How quickly can a lawyer be matched?
Once the partnership is in place, an individual lawyer is matched by hand to an appropriate clinician, typically on a same-week basis depending on licensure footprint and modality fit. First sessions are usually scheduled within 5 to 10 business days of the match. Matching is reviewed by CEREVITY's clinical leadership rather than assigned algorithmically.
Does CEREVITY work across California and beyond?
Yes. Care is delivered by secure telehealth nationwide across all 50 states, so a group can include lawyers wherever they practice, and ongoing therapy for attorneys is available in every state.
What does it cost?
Structure is agreed in the partnership conversation and depends on the size of the group and the scope of access, with the group rate designed for smaller practices. CEREVITY is a private-pay network with transparent fees. Standard individual rates are published on our pricing page.
How do we begin?
Start a partnership conversation using the form on this page, by phone at (562) 295-6650, or through the contact page. A member of CEREVITY's clinical leadership will follow up directly and confidentially to scope a benefit that fits the group.
Start a partnership conversation.
Tell us about your firm or group and the lawyers you want to cover. A member of CEREVITY's clinical leadership will follow up directly and confidentially.
Further reading and related partnerships.
Research, clinical writing, and the other legal verticals CEREVITY supports.
Research and data
For firm owners
Clinical writing
A note on sources.
The figure that 23 percent of licensed lawyers reported experiencing significant stress is drawn from a landmark study by the American Bar Association and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, as reported by the ABA Journal, which surveyed nearly 13,000 licensed attorneys. The structural argument on this page is based on the firsthand experience of CEREVITY clinicians who work with the legal profession, combined with publicly available materials. Specific contractual scopes, including any Business Associate Agreement, are confirmed in writing in the partnership agreement before a partnership goes live. Additional CEREVITY research is collected in the knowledge base.
