Before You Sign a Therapist Contractor Agreement: What to Review When Joining a Practice
Joining a psychotherapy practice can offer a valuable foundation for your work. An established clinic may provide referrals, administrative support, office space and systems that would take time to build independently.
When the people and setting feel right, the agreement can seem like the final administrative step.
Yet that document shapes much more than your compensation. It may determine who controls your schedule, which expenses you carry, whether you can work elsewhere and what happens to your client relationships when you leave.
A thoughtful review starts with one question: Does the written agreement support the opportunity you believe you are accepting?
The answer requires looking beyond individual clauses. The financial terms, professional responsibilities and departure provisions need to work together in a way you understand before committing your time and building a caseload.
Understand What the Practice Is Actually Offering
Two practices may offer the same compensation split while providing very different levels of support.
One may handle inquiries, intake coordination, billing, collections and appointment changes. Another may provide a room and website listing while leaving most administrative work to you.
Those differences affect both your earnings and the time available for clinical work.
For example, an offer to provide “administrative support” leaves several questions unanswered. Does someone respond to prospective clients? Who follows up on outstanding accounts? Who handles requests for receipts, records or appointment changes?
Ask the practice to describe the process from the first inquiry through to payment. Then compare that explanation with the agreement.
The goal is to understand which services form part of the arrangement, which are discretionary and which responsibilities remain yours. That distinction becomes especially important when the practice is busy or its staffing changes.
Evaluate the Compensation Formula, Not Just the Percentage
A compensation split is only meaningful once you understand what it applies to.
Suppose your share is 70 per cent of a $180 session fee. That suggests $126 per session. But the result may differ if payment processing charges are deducted first, the practice discounts the fee or your compensation depends on collecting payment from the client.
Review how the agreement treats completed sessions, cancellations, missed appointments, refunds and unpaid accounts. Establish when payment is made and what information you receive to verify the calculation.
Fee setting also matters. If the practice can reduce fees or approve refunds, understand how those decisions affect your share and whether you have any role in them.
Consider the work surrounding each appointment as well. Intake calls, reports, meetings and administrative tasks may require substantial time. The agreement should make clear whether those activities generate compensation or form part of your existing obligations.
The useful comparison is your expected income after expenses and required work, rather than the headline percentage alone.
Distinguish Referral Potential From a Commitment
An established practice may have strong demand without being able to promise a particular caseload.
Referrals depend on factors such as client preferences, clinical fit, availability and the services other practitioners offer. A discussion about the practice’s current waiting list does not necessarily establish what you will receive after joining.
This matters when the agreement requires you to reserve specific hours, pay a fixed monthly fee or limit other work.
For example, holding two evenings each week for the practice creates a real commitment. If those appointments remain unfilled, you need to understand whether you can adjust your availability or accept work elsewhere.
Ask how referrals are allocated, what happens during the initial caseload building period and whether minimum availability expectations can be revisited.
A clear understanding of these points helps you assess the opportunity using realistic assumptions.
Review How Much Control You Have Over Your Work
The agreement may describe you as an independent contractor. Your review should also examine how the relationship is expected to operate.
Consider who sets your hours, approves time away, establishes fees and decides which administrative procedures you must follow. Review whether you can decline referrals, maintain another practice or provide services through other organizations.
For CPP and EI purposes, the Canada Revenue Agency considers the actual working relationship alongside the parties’ stated intention when assessing employment status. The contract’s label does not settle that assessment by itself. Canada.ca
Practically, this means you should understand both the written terms and the proposed working arrangements. Questions about classification may warrant legal and accounting advice specific to those facts.
You should also distinguish ordinary business coordination from decisions affecting clinical work. A practice may need consistent booking and billing procedures, while clinical suitability, competence and professional judgment require their own consideration.
Any uncertainty about those boundaries is easier to address before clients are scheduled.
Account for Expenses and Liability Together
Your share of session revenue may need to cover more than you initially expect.
Possible expenses include professional liability insurance, supervision, software, payment processing, office use and administrative services. Some may be included in the practice’s share; others may be charged separately.
Identify each recurring cost and establish whether the practice can change it during the agreement. Fixed charges deserve particular attention because they may continue during a quiet period, illness or planned absence.
Then review insurance and indemnity provisions together. An indemnity clause may require you to reimburse the practice for specified losses or claims. Its scope matters, particularly if it extends to circumstances involving decisions or systems outside your control.
Ask whether the responsibilities described in the agreement align with your insurance coverage. A contractual obligation and an insured risk are not necessarily the same thing.
This review helps you assess the financial exposure associated with the role, alongside its earning potential.
Clarify Records Responsibilities and Access
Records arrangements can receive little attention during onboarding because everyone expects the relationship to continue.
They become much more significant when a client requests information, a complaint arises or a practitioner leaves.
Understand the proposed records structure, your responsibilities within it and the process for accessing information when needed. Avoid relying on a broad statement that records “belong to the clinic” or “belong to the therapist” without explaining how the arrangement works.
Questions include who administers the system, how access is authorized and how client requests are handled. The agreement should also address what happens when your role ends.
For example, you may need a process for requesting relevant records after departure to respond to an inquiry. Equally, copying or moving records should not be treated as an informal solution.
The contractual terms need to be considered alongside applicable privacy and professional obligations. Clear procedures help both parties understand what they can do and whom they should contact.
Examine Restrictions Against Your Career Plans
An agreement may restrict outside work during the relationship or certain activities after it ends.
Read those provisions against your actual plans. You may already serve clients independently, work at another clinic or intend to establish your own practice later.
Broad wording can create uncertainty about activities that neither party discussed. A restriction relating to “clients of the practice,” for example, may need clarification about clients you brought into the arrangement or inquiries received independently.
Review the activities covered, the duration of any restriction and any geographic scope. Consider related provisions concerning advertising, client communications and use of contact information.
Do not assume a restriction is enforceable simply because it appears in the contract, or that you can disregard it because it seems excessive. Its wording and the circumstances require assessment.
The objective is to understand how the agreement may affect your next professional step before you commit to it.
Read the Departure Terms Before Building Your Caseload
Departure provisions are part of evaluating the opportunity, even when you hope to stay for years.
Start with notice. Establish how much each party must provide, whether the requirements differ and when the practice can end the arrangement immediately.
Then consider what happens during that period. Can you continue seeing clients? Can access to booking or records systems change? Who coordinates communications and transition arrangements?
Client transitions deserve particular care. The agreement should provide a workable process for discussing options and coordinating next steps, with appropriate attention to client choice, confidentiality and continuity.
Financial closure matters too. Review when final compensation is paid, how outstanding collections are handled and whether deductions or continuing charges may apply.
A useful way to assess the provisions is to work through a scenario: you give notice while maintaining an active caseload. Can you identify what happens to appointments, communications, records access and payment? Gaps in that sequence are worth resolving.
Check the Documents the Agreement Incorporates
The main contract may refer to policies, fee schedules, privacy procedures or other documents that also govern your work.
Request those materials before signing. A reference to policies “as amended from time to time” deserves attention because it may allow requirements to change after you join.
Understand who can make changes, how you will receive notice and what happens if a change materially affects your costs or responsibilities.
Compare the written package with the discussions that led to the offer. If supervision, marketing support or particular hours were important to your decision, establish where those commitments appear.
A friendly working relationship provides a strong starting point. Written clarity gives both parties something dependable to use when circumstances change.
Use the Review to Make a Better Decision
A useful contract review identifies which terms matter most to your circumstances.
For one therapist, the priority may be retaining an existing independent practice. For another, it may be predictable payment, supervision arrangements or a manageable departure process.
Bring that context to the review. The agreement, incorporated policies, proposed start date and key promises made during discussions all help explain the arrangement you are considering.
The result should be a clearer understanding of your commitments, the questions to raise and any changes worth requesting. That gives you a stronger basis for deciding whether the practice fits your professional and financial goals.
Review Your Therapist Agreement With Delta Law
Delta Law assists psychotherapy practitioners in Ontario with reviewing contractor agreements and related practice arrangements.
If you have received an agreement, a consultation can help identify your priorities and establish the scope of a review, including compensation, responsibilities, outside work and departure terms.
