Outpatient mental health provider ARC Health has strengthened its footprint in Georgia through its latest mental health practice acquisitions of Cumming-based Focus Forward Counseling & Consulting Inc. While the terms of the transaction were not disclosed, the move marks another step in ARC Health’s ongoing strategy of building a nationwide network of outpatient mental health services. Focus Forward Counseling operates two locations in the Atlanta area and offers a diverse range of services, including pediatric counseling, LGBTQIA counseling, individual therapy, couples counseling, and marriage and family resources.
ARC Health’s Growth and History
ARC Health has its roots in Beechwood-based Advanced Recovery Concepts. In August 2021, Chicago-based private equity firm Thurston Group invested in the company as a platform play, leading to a rebrand as ARC Health. Since then, ARC Health has pursued multiple mental health practice acquisitions, including Focus Forward Counseling, in line with its vision to consolidate fragmented outpatient mental health markets. Notably, this is the second acquisition announced by ARC Health in October, following its purchase of The Ross Center on October 18. These moves reflect the company’s strategic approach to mental health practice acquisitions while preserving the local culture and clinical focus of its acquired practices.
Focus Forward Counseling Partnership
Brad Hieger, founder of Focus Forward Counseling, emphasized the value of this partnership. “I was immediately attracted to ARC’s history of successful partnerships, allowing practices to maintain their great workplace cultures while offering industry knowledge, experience, and back-end support to meet the challenges of a complex, changing healthcare landscape,” Hieger said in a news release. Focus Forward Counseling employs 27 psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists who provide services in multiple languages, including English, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi, Danish, Hebrew, Russian, and Spanish, allowing the practice to serve a highly diverse patient population.
ARC Health’s Expanding Network
With the addition of Focus Forward Counseling, ARC Health now employs over 300 mental health practitioners across Connecticut, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington D.C., and Georgia. A key feature of ARC Health’s approach to mental health practice acquisitions is its commitment to maintaining the local identity of the companies it acquires while making practice leaders equity-owning partners. This approach preserves workplace culture and clinical leadership while benefiting from the operational and financial support of a larger network.
Trends in Outpatient Mental Health Acquisitions
The outpatient mental health sector has been highly attractive to investors, particularly private equity firms seeking to consolidate a fragmented and growing market. While historic acquisition multiples in the space may soften as economic conditions tighten, mergers and mental health practice acquisitions remain a critical strategy for expanding service offerings and geographic reach. CEOs attending Behavioral Health Business’ INVEST event note that PE-backed providers are likely to adopt more strategic approaches to acquisitions, focusing on creating scale, improving operational efficiency, and addressing unmet demand in communities across the U.S.
The Future of Mental Health Practice Acquisitions
ARC Health’s growth trajectory underscores the broader trend in outpatient mental health: consolidation of smaller, locally focused practices under regional or national platforms that can provide both clinical expertise and operational infrastructure. By maintaining practice autonomy while offering centralized support, ARC Health demonstrates a model for sustainable mental health practice acquisitions that balances high-quality patient care with business growth.
As mental health demand continues to rise, particularly for specialized services such as pediatric counseling and LGBTQIA support, ARC Health’s mental health practice acquisitions—including Focus Forward Counseling—position the organization to meet the evolving needs of patients while building a scalable, multi-state outpatient network. The company’s strategy reflects a broader industry pattern: combining personalized, community-based care with the advantages of a larger, well-capitalized platform to thrive in an increasingly complex healthcare landscape.
