On this page
What happened with Headway's provider agreement?
Around October 15, 2026, Headway providers began receiving a new provider agreement to accept in their portal. After a wave of objections from providers, providers report that Headway emailed them on October 16 to say the rollout is paused while the agreement is revised.
Providers describe accepting the main agreement first, with a separate arbitration agreement shown only after that. Reported[5][9]
One provider reported a signing deadline of November 17, 2026. Single source[5]
As providers quoted the pause email, Headway said parts of the agreement were "very reasonably interpreted in ways we never intended." Single source[6]
As of October 17, 2026, we found no statement about the pause on Headway's website or help center, and no revised agreement.
What do providers report is in the new agreement?
Providers who have read the agreement report five terms that matter most: a permanent license to your name, image and voice; one-way indemnification; a 12-month limit on soliciting Headway clients; a right to recover past payments; and a separate arbitration agreement. Each card says what was reported, what it could mean for you and what to ask.
Providers also report 30 days' written notice to leave, or 60 days if you see Medicare Advantage clients through Headway. Reported[9][7]
One summary also lists a three-day deadline to provide records (including after the agreement ends), required general liability and tail coverage, and notices to you that count as delivered when sent. Single source[7]
Not everyone reads these terms as unusual. A healthcare attorney commenting publicly on a list of the terms said that, apart from the image and content license, they are fairly standard contract terms, and that the indemnity language is reasonable. Single source[10]
A permanent license to your name, image and voice
- What providers report
- Section II.E, as one provider quoted it, gives Headway, its affiliates, successors and assigns a "perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, and irrevocable" right to use your name, likeness, image, voice, photos and recordings, including to alter them and license them to others, with no approval rights and no extra pay. Providers report it survives the end of the agreement (Section IX.F). Reported[5][9][7]
- What it could mean
- Content you give Headway for your profile, such as a headshot or an introduction video, could be used, edited or licensed by Headway or a later owner of the company, including after you leave, without asking you first.
- What to ask
- Which content does the license cover: only what I upload for my profile, or more? Does it end when I leave? Does the revised version narrow it?
Indemnification that runs one way
- What providers report
- Providers who compared versions report that the earlier agreement had each side indemnify the other, while the new Section X has only the provider indemnify Headway, including attorneys' fees, for the provider's negligence, misconduct, breach or violation of law. Reported[5][7]
- What it could mean
- If a claim comes out of your work, you could owe Headway's costs, and the clause no longer promises the same protection back to you when the problem is on Headway's side.
- What to ask
- Is indemnification mutual in the revised version? Does my malpractice or general liability policy cover what I would be agreeing to? (Your insurance carrier can answer the second question.)
A 12-month limit on soliciting Headway clients
- What providers report
- Providers report that Section V.F bars you from trying to persuade clients who found you through Headway to leave the platform, during the agreement and for 12 months after it ends. Clients you brought yourself are reported to be excluded. Reported[9][7]
- What it could mean
- If you leave, you may not be able to invite clients Headway matched you with to follow you to your own practice for a year.
- What to ask
- What counts as soliciting? What happens if a client asks, on their own, to keep seeing me? How is a client I brought told apart from one Headway matched?
A right to recover money already paid to you
- What providers report
- One summary of the agreement says Headway may recover money already paid to you over documentation, coding or insurance compliance issues, and that some payment and repayment rules sit in separate policies Headway can update. Single source[7]
- What it could mean
- Pay for past sessions could be taken back later if a review finds a documentation, coding or compliance problem, and the rules for that could change if they live in a policy Headway can update on its own.
- What to ask
- Which policies does the agreement bring in, and where can I read the current versions? How far back can repayment reach, and can I appeal it?
A separate arbitration agreement
- What providers report
- Providers report a separate arbitration agreement (Section XI), presented after the main agreement, with an opt-out. Providers describe the opt-out as a request sent after signing, with the deadline set in that separate document. Reported[5][9][7]
- What it could mean
- Arbitration agreements generally send disputes to a private arbitrator instead of a court and often limit group claims, so the opt-out window matters if you want to keep those options.
- What to ask
- What is the exact opt-out deadline and method, and how will Headway confirm it received my opt-out? Does opting out change anything about my account?
How sure are these reports?
Not fully. Headway's provider agreement is not public: providers can read it only inside their Headway portal, so every term above comes from providers who quoted or summarized their own copy.
Headway's help center says providers view their agreement in the portal under Rates & Agreements, then the Agreement tab. Verified[1]
A published comparison of Alma and Headway also notes that Headway's provider agreement is not public. Reported[4]
What should you check before signing any platform agreement?
Check who can use your content, who protects whom, what happens to your clients and your pay when you leave, and how disputes are handled. These seven checks work for Headway, Alma, Grow, Rula or any platform you join.
If a clause is unclear, ask a healthcare attorney before you sign. A short review costs far less than living with a term you did not expect.
Get the full text first. Download or save the complete agreement and every policy it refers to before you accept anything, and note the version date.
Your name, image and voice. Look for any license to your content. Check whether it covers only your profile, whether it ends when you leave, and whether it allows editing or licensing to others.
Who protects whom. Read the indemnification section and check whether it runs both ways. Ask your malpractice carrier whether your policy covers what you would be agreeing to.
Your clients when you leave. Find any client or non-solicitation rules, how long they last after you leave, and how clients you brought yourself are treated.
Money that can be taken back. Find every clause that lets the platform recover past payments: the reasons, how far back it can go, and whether you can appeal.
Rules that can change later. List each outside policy the agreement brings in. If the platform can change those policies on its own, your terms can change without a new signature.
Disputes and leaving. Check the arbitration terms and any opt-out deadline, the notice you must give to leave, which state's law applies, and which terms survive after the agreement ends.
What happens if you don't sign, or sign and leave later?
Not signing a required platform agreement generally means you cannot keep using the platform, so plan your next step before any deadline. If you sign and leave later, check which terms survive the end of the agreement, because those keep applying after you go.
One provider reports you must accept the whole agreement to keep using Headway at all, even just to submit claims, though you can turn off the marketplace to stop new marketplace clients and fees. Single source[5]
Headway's help center says you can turn your marketplace appearance off in Sigmund under Settings, then New Clients Settings. Your direct link keeps working, and clients who already booked through the marketplace stay marketplace clients. Verified[3]
Headway says a deactivation is scheduled within 30 to 60 days of your request, depending on whether you are credentialed with Medicare Advantage, and suggests downloading your notes before you leave. Verified[2]
Headway's help center says clients you bring to Headway are yours to take with you, and that it expects clients who found you on Headway to keep being seen there. Verified[2]
If you are weighing your own insurance contracts, start early: credentialing with each payer usually takes 60 to 90 days, and you can apply while you are still on Headway. Our guide to leaving Headway, Alma or Grow has a 90-day plan.
Sources
Every source behind this guide, with the label we gave it and the date we read it.
Verified Official and primary sources
- [1]Headway Help Center, Rates and agreements. Where providers read their agreement (inside the portal only). Read October 17, 2026.
- [2]Headway Help Center, Managing your account. Deactivation timing, notes download, clients you bring. Read October 17, 2026.
- [3]Headway Help Center, Understanding the marketplace service fee. Turning marketplace appearance off; direct link. Read October 17, 2026.
Reported Practitioner and press reports
- [4]ChoosingTherapy.com, Alma vs Headway for Therapists. States that Headway's provider agreement is not public. Read October 17, 2026.
- [5]Reddit, r/therapists, Headway provider agreement update (October 15, 2026). Provider quotes of Sections II.E and X; old two-way indemnity quoted in comments; arbitration; reported deadline. Read October 17, 2026.
- [6]Reddit, r/therapists, Headway pausing the new agreement rollout due to feedback (October 16, 2026). Providers report the pause email and quote it. Read October 17, 2026.
- [9]Therapy Is A Business, Jessica Good, Leaving Headway? What the New Provider Agreement Says and How to Tell Your Clients (October 16, 2026). Sections II.E, IX.F, V.F and XI and the notice period, from agreement pages therapists shared with the author. Read October 17, 2026.
Single source One report each
- [7]LinkedIn, Megan Cornish, LICSW, List of 11 reported provisions (secondhand, October 16, 2026). Secondhand summary of the agreement; the author notes she is not a Headway provider. Read October 17, 2026.
- [8]LinkedIn, comment by Jonah Schwartz, LCSW, Report of an email from Headway's CEO (October 16, 2026). Reports the agreement withdrawn for revisions. Read October 17, 2026.
- [10]LinkedIn, comment by Veda Collmer, Esq., healthcare attorney, View on the reported terms (October 16, 2026). Says most listed terms are fairly standard, apart from the content license. Read October 17, 2026.