My colleague, Brenda Bomgardner, is the founder of Creating Your Beyond, LLC.  She has chosen to begin her practice by joining a cooperative in Denver, Colorado.  I’ve asked her to share with you her experience below.

I lease on office in an old Victorian house built in the late 1800s called People House.  Originally, the nuns of Saint Dominic’s parish lived there.  In the early 1970’s, the building was bought by a local couple and became a small non-profit spiritual center for personal growth.

There are several large rooms for workshops as well as rooms for individual sessions.  Each room has its own unique personality.  Visitors are welcome to help themselves to the tea and coffee from one of two kitchens areas.  Consequently, it feels like home.

All the practitioners at People House are self-employed.  The majority of us are psychotherapists with a wide range of experience and expertise.  Additionally, there is a master herbalist, a masseuse, an aroma therapist and several energy workers.  Plus, there is a psychiatrist and a doctor who help with supervision of the eight interns in training.

The joy of leasing an office at People House is the sense of community.  The opportunity to learn from each other is a gift we offer one another.  The practitioners are approachable and willing to share their knowledge about all aspects of private practice.

There is also an opportunity to partner with each other to co-facilitate workshops.  I conduct most of my workshops with Christine Allison.  Hence, the shared cooperative space is fertile ground for growing a network and continued professional development.  Within the network I found my supervisor Dee Marcotte .

The beauty of the People House culture is I can choose how involved I want to be with the community and with whom I want to connect.  Hence, the community offers a balance to the isolation often experienced by individuals in private practice.

On a final note, over 60 people lease full time, rent by the hour, or offer workshops at People House.  There are over 15 different types of modalities of healing and over 40 workshops offered quarterly.  Not only do I benefit, my clients benefit too.”

If you are soon to venture out into your own practice, I want to encourage you to be creative in your planning and open in your thinking to explore the many ways you can find space to use for your office.

Cooperative spaces like People House can be cost effective and community-friendly ways for you to be of service to others while also meeting your own needs.  If you know of other non-traditional methods for securing office space, I hope you’ll share them here!