Mental Health Therapist, Contractor - VA / Remote

Join Cartwheel to help tackle the student mental health crisis.

Cartwheel is an early-stage company building a new kind of mental health program for kids that puts schools at the center. We see our role as supporting school staff who see kids every single day. Instead of going around them, we collaborate with them. This means:

Earlier intervention Higher student and family engagement in care Better coordination among the trusted adults in a student’s life Kids shouldn't just aspire to get out of bed and drag themselves to class. They should be able to experience joy. They deserve to envision and build a life they’re excited to live. If you join Cartwheel, you’ll help make this vision a reality for millions of students across the country. ABOUT THE ROLE We’re looking for outcomes-oriented and mission-driven therapists to join our amazing and interdisciplinary care team of psychiatrists, therapists, and school health professionals. As a Mental Health Therapist, you'll work directly with school staff, students, and families in our partner school districts to build stronger systems of mental health support. Role type: This is a 1099 Independent Contractor position Location: 100% remote in the U.S. Start date: Rolling start dates beginning January 2026 WHAT YOU’LL DO Provide excellent care, including mental health assessments and teletherapy, to PreK-12 students and school staff in Cartwheel’s partner school districts (typically 2-4 months per student with extension based on clinical need and clinician’s judgment) Participate in case discussions with other Cartwheel team members Support students and families with transition to community care providers Build collaborative, trusted, and lasting relationships with school leadership, staff, students, and families. Meet regularly with school staff to discuss student mental health needs and develop strategies to improve school services. If qualified and interested, provide clinical supervision to other care team members WHO YOU ARE Must have… Passion for working with schools on mental health and growing a startup company Active license in Virginia to deliver mental health care (LCSW, LMFT, LPC, PhD/PsyD) Experience with CBT, DBT, ACT, solution-focused therapy, and/or motivational interviewing At least two years of experience delivering mental health services to children and youth via telehealth. We use Zoom, GSuite (Google Calendar, Gmail, etc.), electronic health record systems, and other collaboration tools. Access to reliable, high-speed internet (50 Mbps download, 10 Mbps upload, you can test your internet speed at https://www.speedtest.net/) Excellent organization, communication, and teamwork skills Ability to offer hours during and especially after school (e.g., 3-8 pm Eastern time weekdays, 8am-5pm Saturdays) Ability to provide effective and safe care to children and adults, including ability to manage crisis situations virtually. NOTE: As long as you have an active Virginia license, you can live anywhere in the United States Extra credit… Fluency in other languages (e.g., Spanish, Portuguese) Experience with parent guidance Qualified to provide clinical supervision in Virginia Active NPI number (Need to apply for your NPI? Visit this link. It takes 2-4 weeks) CAQH credentialing set up (Need to apply for CAQH? Visit this link. It takes 3-4 days) The above is a summary of the role, not an exhaustive list. If you think that you have most of the above but not everything, please apply. We'd love to hear from you! WHY YOU’LL LOVE CARTWHEEL At Cartwheel, you’ll have an unmatched provider experience. Competitive compensation ($60-$75/hour base hourly rate + up to 5% quarterly Mission Bonus for Master’s-level clinicians, dependent on licensure, experience, language, etc.) The Mission Bonus of up to 5% is paid quarterly for serving higher-need populations ( based on the % of students you see who have Medicaid, are uninsured, or speak a non-English language) Access to free online accredited continuing education and a CEU stipend Clinical Supervision for associate level clinicians Administrative support from our experienced, full-time Care Coordinators, and optional access to an AI-enabled medical scribe that saves you hours of documentation time (this is used and loved by the majority of Cartwheel clinicians!) Team-based care with mission-driven colleagues building a truly innovative school-community partnership model Opportunities beyond clinical care, including working closely with schools on staff support, workshops, and other programming Cartwheel is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We embrace diverse backgrounds and perspectives and an inclusive work environment. We're committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, or veteran status.

We participate in E-Verify. Please be prepared to provide acceptable documentation to verify your identity and work authorization. Cartwheel is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We embrace diverse backgrounds and perspectives and an inclusive work environment. We're committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, or veteran status. We participate in E-Verify. Please be prepared to provide acceptable documentation to verify your identity and work authorization