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ITI’m so tired of founders of mental health startups complaining when they receive pushback from licensed clinicians.
We’ve lived the consequences of what happens when social services are privatized—just look at American medicine. We know how it ends: overpromising, underdelivering, and prioritizing scale over care.
I saw a post the other day from a tech founder complaining that people roll their eyes when she says she’s building an AI therapist. When I asked if she thinks people might be rolling their eyes because she’s not a mental health professional, she became defensive.
I’m all for people building a business that is meaningful to them and defending what they believe in, but I can’t just sit back and praise a founder who isn’t open to feedback—regardless of what product they’re trying to build.
The best business advice I ever received was to “stay in my lane.” That doesn’t mean I can’t branch out into other industries. That just means I need to acknowledge my own limitations and hire out or seek support to fill in the gaps.
This founder is not “misunderstood.” She’s being questioned by the very people who have spent their careers picking up the pieces when systems fail. If we’re rolling our eyes, it’s because we’ve seen this play out before—and we care too much to stay quiet.
And here’s the thing: most clinicians aren’t asking these businesses to not exist. We’re asking to be invited in. We’re asking to be seen as collaborators—licensed professionals and subject-matter experts who can help you build something ethical, effective, and rooted in actual care.
You want to innovate? Great. Let’s do it together. But don’t mistake valid critique from trained clinicians as resistance. It’s accountability🤙
@itslauracaruso
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