Introducing our Therapist Collective!
In the clinical world, DIR/Floortime completely transformed how we support child development. We stopped demanding rigid compliance and started prioritizing emotional regulation, individual differences, and warm, reciprocal relationships. We learned that true growth doesn’t happen through external pressure or top-down control…it happens through attunement.
Yet, step out of the therapy room and into the business landscape of pediatric healthcare, and you’ll find an industry running on the exact opposite principles.
Traditional business models force clinicians into transactional, high-volume productivity, isolated solo practices, or rigid clinical environments. We ask therapists to show up for neurodivergent children with deep relational attunement, while managing those same therapists using rigid, top-down industrial paradigms.
It’s time to stop treating Floortime as just a clinical tool, and start using it as an organizational blueprint for how we work together.
What Happens When You Manage a Business Relying on Floortime Principles?
When you apply the core tenets of DIR/Floortime to organizational design, the whole paradigm shifts:
*D is for Development: Meeting Your Practice Where It Is
In Floortime, you wouldn’t expect a kiddo to learn a new skill when they’re overwhelmed or feeling off-balance. You tune in and meet them where they’re at.
Traditional business models don’t really work that way, though; they tend to demand non-stop output, no matter what’s going on around you. An attuned business model, on the other hand, honors your current season. It supports your practice as it naturally grows instead of forcing you to hit rigid, exhausting quotas.
Our monthly virtual meetings support this kind of flexible business model. We meet each clinician where they’re at with live problem solving and active listening, so new and long-term business owners can feel heard and known at any stage. We discuss alternative payment forms like Self Determination Program, how to use tools like AI and Quickbooks to meet your needs, and how to launch strong referral partnerships with local organizations.
*I is for Individual Differences: Respecting Internal Wiring
Just like no two kids experience the world in the exact same way, no two clinicians do either. Standard corporate healthcare loves a one-size-fits-all model, expecting everyone to thrive under identical caseloads, rigid schedules, and endless admin work. Honoring individual differences means creating work environments and practice models that actually respect your sensory needs, your energy, and the way you work best.
We don’t hold value judgments about entire groups of people; BCBAs with a direct-care model and SLPs who advocate for spelling to communicate come together and learn from one another. We don’t assume any one style of therapy is good or bad, and we allow community members to be known as individuals in our larger ecosystem rather than focusing on the letters after their name. Who you are to your community is massively important, and we love to support niched-down, specialized service offerings that may be unfamiliar to the greater public.
*R is for Relationships: The Engine of Growth
Relationship is where the real magic happens. Lasting growth doesn’t come from top-down directives or working in a competitive bubble—it comes from genuine, warm connections. When you have a safe, supportive space to lean on colleagues, collaborate across disciplines, and share the ups and downs of this work, burnout transforms into deep, fulfilling connection.
Our WhatsApp chat is active and thriving; from sharing ongoing events to asking questions from fellow providers, relationships emerge for mutual support. Each day we see colleagues chat and support one another.
Our Collective also allows for members to use our play spaces for direct service or observation with their caseload. This offering has been incredibly helpful in feeling less alone when doing individualized therapy. You can interact with SPL staff, fellow families, and clinicians onsite in a joyful, collaborative way.
Welcome to the Therapist Collective at Spirited Play Labs
We built Spirited Play Labs on these exact relational principles, and created the Therapist Collective to give independent providers a home where this philosophy isn’t just talked about, but lived out every day.
The Therapist Collective is a professional membership designed for independent pediatric therapists, parent coaches, and neurodiversity-affirming specialists serving families across the Bay Area (including locations in San Ramon, Berkeley, and Belmont).
It’s not just a physical space—it’s a collective mindset shift.
Why Join the Collective?
- Shared Sensory-Rich Environments: Bring your private clients into specialized, child-led play spaces without the overwhelming overhead of traditional commercial real estate.
- A Relational Community: Join a network of like-minded providers who value autonomy, attunement, and neurodiversity-affirming care.
- Peer Connection & Collaboration: Engage in real conversations about modern practice management, relational business models, and clinical problem-solving alongside peers who “get it.”
- Built-in Referral Ecosystem: Connect directly with a vibrant local network of over 600 families seeking specialized, progressive pediatric care through our private Circle platform.
Ditch the Isolation. Reclaim Your Practice.
You don’t have to choose between the burnout of corporate clinics and the isolation of running a solo practice in a silo.
If you are ready to be part of a community that applies relational, human-centered principles to both business and therapy, we’d love to welcome you into the conversation.
- Membership: $65/month
- Who It’s For: Pediatric OTs, SLPs, developmental specialists, parent coaches, and neurodiversity-affirming providers serving ages 0–16.
Ready to connect with like-minded colleagues?
Visit spiritedplaylabs.com/therapist-collective or reach out directly at mikaela@spiritedplaylabs.com to learn more and join the collective.