Motivo Health, a service that connects therapists who need clinical supervision to support their licensure with online clinical supervisors, has raised $14 million in series A funding.
The company was founded in 2018 by Rachel McCrickard, a licensed therapist, to address the shortage of licensed therapists, exacerbated by the requirement that after grad school, candidates complete two years of face-to-face patient consultations supervised by a licensed therapist.
Since the pandemic, however, most states have lifted the face-to-face supervision requirement, according to an Aug. 18 news release from Motivo.
Ms. McCrickard said the idea for Motivo was sparked by her own two-hour journey to the closest clinical supervisor to get her therapist license.
"At a time when our society needs quality mental health providers, it's critical we leverage technology to remove unnecessary barriers in the licensure process," Ms. McCrickard said in the news release.
The funding was led by global investment firm Cox Enterprises.
"There is tremendous opportunity to impact the mental health industry in a meaningful way," Tim Howe, associate vice president of healthcare strategy and investments, Cox Enterprises, said in the news release. "Behavioral health is an important component of our health care strategy, and Motivo is focused on helping therapists, social workers, behavior analysts and psychologists take that final step in their career."