Membership Information
Independent Mental Health Practices Alliance (IMHPA)
IMHPA is a 501(c)(6) IPA, a corporation which allows competitors to contract together to provide health care services.
Why join? To create your successful future in mental health practice.
IMHPA offers membership to Oregon licensed independent clinicians of all mental health disciplines: Psychologists, Marriage & Family Therapists, Professional Counselors, Social Workers, Psychiatrists, Mental Health Nurse Practitioners, those at their post-graduate level of training, practicing under approved supervision and supervisors. Each of these disciplines need to increase their awareness of the challenges of Value-Based Reimbursements, a mode of reimbursement that will require increased collaboration among health care providers of all disciplines.
IMHPA Members may choose to practice solo, in office-sharing arrangements or may practice in two types of incorporated groups; (1) corporations where the clinicians are owners/shareholders organized on some “costs and/or profit-sharing basis” and (2) corporations where licensed employees are salaried and pre-licensed clinicians may be contract employees.
IMHPA recognizes that mental health professionals have a wide variety of support, practice-development and operations needs, just as they have varying modes of clinical practice, interests and specialization. IMHPA members may use all benefits available or only the benefits they choose. Cross-disciplinary collaborations improve mental health services.
IMHPA offered a well-attended CE in 2019, encouraging formation of private practice groups, development of such groups has increased. Some have struggled and failed. Group practices need healthy business structures.
The Past Informs the Future
In 1996, almost all physicians were in independent practice. In 2025 the greater Portland metropolitan area has an estimated 7,000-8,000 practicing physicians, an estimated 4900-5600 of whom are corporate employees, there are an estimated 2100-2400 in independent practice the majority of whom are part of a 501(c)(6) IPA .
What is IMHPA? An IPA with members who are activists for ethical collaborative care and who advocate for Healthy Contracts between payers and healthcare professionals.
Peer consultation and study groups are core values of IMHPA, members are supported to organize and participate in groups they create and maintain.
Peer review of quality care is protected by State Law for contract eligible members.
IMHPA’s Referral Directory: OregonTherapyOptions.com (OTO) has a quick, advanced search engine. It offers more features than any other referral system as it helps clients find the professional services they need.
OTO has the capacity to offer privacy-protected online potential-client screening to attract people seeking services.
Members can upload pdf forms to their OTO marketing page. These can be members’ office forms and/or documents which promote some aspect of the member’s practice.
Members may create an unlimited number of free websites using their own domain names at their OTO dashboard.
Members’ listserv supports cross-referral and consultation group development, offers updates on IMHPA activity and contracting issues.
IMHPA Members’ HIPAA secure FORUM can facilitate consultation and discussion.
Member have discounts or member-benefit access to many services, tools and to continuing education.
Members may have an Audit Protection Benefit after 6 months of membership. (Qualification criteria apply to this benefit)
LightQ, IMHPA’s free-with-membership online measurement system, offers widely accepted screening and progress measures as well as an increasing number of assessment and change-measure questionnaires.
LightQ screening, progress and outcome questionnaires can be delivered to potential clients by kiosk, web portal, to members’ clients by email or text.
The LightQ measurement system allows completed questionnaire responses to be delivered to members, their clients and/or collaborating clinicians as .pdfs
The LightQ measurement system includes analytics which allow members to examine and compare their own patients’ data
The LightQ measurement system will allow IMHPA to participate ethically in Healthy Contracts, and to demonstrate the effectiveness of treatment by IMHPA members as a collaborative group.
The LightQ EHR system includes HIPAA compliant, privacy protective chart notes which meet all basic, comprehensive, progress and medical necessity requirements.
The LightQ EHR includes a Coordination of Care chart note which automatically displays a graph of progress, after 3 measures are made.
The LightQ EHR allows Members to print chart notes as pdfs.
The LightQ EHR system allows Members to make “bulk downloads” of their chart notes as .pdfs
IMHPA offers Healthy Contracts negotiation and administrative support for enrollment.
IMHPA offers online and in person training to ensure members’ professional readiness to contract for Value Based Reimbursements
Tier 2 Licensed Membership
Oregon Licensed Mental Health Professionals may join at Tier 2 any time. IMHPA’s membership includes Psychologists, Marriage and Family Therapists, Professional Counselors, Social Workers, Psychiatrists, and Mental Health Nurse Practitioners and those at post-graduate level of training, practicing under approved supervision. All Oregon Mental Health Professionals are welcome to apply.
PART OF A PRIVATE PRACTICE GROUP?
IMHPA is a 501 (c) 6 corporation which offers individual memberships to clinicians of all mental health disciplines practicing solo or in office-sharing arrangements and to clinicians practicing in two types of incorporated groups; (1) private corporations where the clinicians are owners/shareholders organized on a “costs and/or profit sharing” basis and (2) private corporations where all licensed employees are salaried and Associates may be contracted.
Established, incorporated groups which include 6 or more licensed members and help facilitate their licensed members’ credentialing process for IMHPA contracts pay dues at a rate of $45 per month per contracting licensed group member and $20 per month for pre-licensed professionals.
Full Membership Requires:
State License for independent practice of a mental health discipline.
Malpractice insurance (1,000,000 occurrence 3,000,000 aggregate) plus General Liability Insurance,
Approval by the IMHPA Board of Directors of candidate's Enrollment Application.
Membership in IMHPA is provisional for the first year.
Members agree to accept Bylaws and Policies adopted by IMHPA as they enroll.
Members agree to IMHPA policies concerning their ethical responsibilities to colleagues and clients as they enroll.
Peer-consultation is a requirement of membership and a support for members.
Contracting with Healthplans
Keep your current EHR if you choose. IMHPA offers an online platform (which meets group and individual contract requirements) at no extra charge. IMHPA members have responsibility for and control over their personal contracts with Healthplans.
Contracting agreements which involve the provision of mental and behavioral health services with structure as Value Based Contracts (VBC) that involve Alternative Payment Methods (APM) are part of the future. (The Affordable Care Act of 2010, brought VBC contracting to healthcare. It is coming slowly and with a great deal of confusion for mental and behavioral health services.
The developing payment methods may include Value Based Payments (VPM), Risk-sharing, Pay for Performance (P4P) and Feedback Informed Treatment (FIT), IMHPA is positioning itself to support Ethical Independent Practices in the new arena of Value Based Contracting.
Peer Consultation & Supervision
IMHPA members have created an interdisciplinary community which promotes and supports sound clinical practice through participation in peer study and consultation. IMHPA Bylaws require that all members belong to a Peer Consultation Group or have other formal study, consultation or supervision. The expectation is that consultation/supervision or study meetings will be held at least once a month. IMHPA members may choose to meet with a single peer consultant or supervisor.
Peer consultation
creates and supports professional community.
encourages ethical practice and provides networking opportunities.
supports IMHPA members as they provide quality care to clients.
supports counseling and therapy services through appropriate referrals and improved decision making capabilities.
helps prevent therapist burnout by decreasing the isolation therapists often experience in private practice.
allows mentoring opportunities in therapy skills and business practices.
is a quality assurance strategy. When IMHPA members present our practices to the public, and when we market contracts for services the fact of our peer consultation is an assurance to clients of our well-developed skills and our clinical depth.
is a growing standard of practice across the country. In many cases, peer supervision is a required standard of behavior.
Four basic reasons to start, join, formalize and maintain consultation group
Less Risk and Lower Liability.
Save Time and Money.
Create long term supportive clinical relationships
Professional Growth.
Contact us if you want to know more
Members who are interested in joining an existing peer consultation group, or would like to form a new one, are encouraged to post a message on the IMHPA listserv.