Clinician-Entrepreneurs Merge 4 Companies, Launch Well Behavioral Health

Two clinician-entrepreneurs have merged their several behavioral health organizations to create Well Behavioral Health, a company zeroed in on a holistic care model.

Well Behavioral Health is the result of the fusion of Eating Disorder Recovery Specialists, Mental Health Recovery Specialists, Sanctuary Psychology P.C. and Well Williamsburg. These entities were collectively founded by Sarah Chipps, a psychologist, and Greta Gleissner, a licensed clinical social worker.

The lead-up to the merger includes years of previous clinical engagements and a shared professional network between Chipps and Gleissner. The two launched Sanctuary Psychology P.C. to provide trauma-disorder-focused intensive outpatient programming (IOP) in 2020.

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Gleissner and Chipps founded the other legacy entities in 2013: Gleissner founded what would become Eating Disorder Recovery Specialists and Mental Health Recovery Specialists, while Chipps started what would become Well Williamsburg.

The combined company offers outpatient therapy, nutrition counseling, coaching, group therapy, virtual IOP and dialectical behavior therapy in New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Colorado, Virginia, Georgia, Ohio and Florida.

Its services address eating disorders, trauma, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and other mood disorders.

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Chipps and Gleissner lead the company along with Chief Information Officer Ashley Anderson and CFO Matt Perry. Perry shares ops leader duties with Kati Ehresman, director of clinical operations. The leadership team also includes Kelly Moore, director of admissions and growth strategy.

So far, the company has been bootstrapped by its founders. It works with patients covered by commercial and Medicaid payers as well as those that self-pay. Well Behavioral Health employs about 125 people. It operates two offices, one in Manhattan and the other in Brooklyn, New York. It’s virtual services are available across its entire footprint. It also offers self-pay meal and coaching support nationwide. 

“We really wanted to simplify things and really have a clear way for clients, providers and any stakeholders to know that we can do all these things under this umbrella of services,” Gleissner told Behavioral Health Business.

The move also eliminates care silos, allowing patients to enter care and move as their clinical needs demand. It also helps each company streamline costs and resources, Chipps added.

“I also think about how joining forces together helps negotiate with insurance companies, develop as a whole entity, and streamline how we apply for licensure,” Chipps said.

Looking forward, the company will move toward a value-based care model and increase training opportunities for therapists with its several services all under one roof.

The fusion of multiple companies has brought several new platforms to the fore in the mental health sector. For example, PAX Health was formed in March 2024 by merging three behavioral health companies: Behavioral Medicine Associates (BMA), Workers Compensation Psychological Network (WCPN) and Reservoir Health. NorthEast Health Services (NEHS), InterCare Psychiatric Services, GR&W Health and My Transformations merged in 2021 to become Transformations Care Network, one of the fastest-growing behavioral health companies in the U.S.

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