Mental Health Providers

U.S. Value: 284.3(2021); 305 (2022); 324.9 (2023).

Healthiest State: Massachusetts: 693.6 (2021); 722 (2022); 758.7 (2023).

Least-healthy State: Alabama: 120.8 (2020); 128 (2022); 140 (2023).

Definition: Number of psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists and advanced practice nurses specializing in mental health care per 100,000 population

Data Source and Years: U.S. HHS, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, National Plan and Provider Enumeration System, September 2023

Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of U.S. HHS, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, National Plan and Provider Enumeration System, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2024.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

Mental health providers offer essential care to adults and children with mental or behavioral disorders through assessments, diagnoses, treatments, medications and therapeutic interventions. The mental health workforce includes a broad array of professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, professionals treating alcohol and other drug abuse and advanced practice nurses specializing in mental health care. 

According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, more than 1 in 5 Americans experienced a mental illness (not including substance abuse disorders) in 2021. Yet only 47.2% of adults with mental illness and 65.4% of those with severe mental illness reported receiving treatment in the past year. 

An analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that only 27.7% of mental health care needs were met in 2022, and more than 156 million Americans were living in areas with a shortage of mental health care professionals. Demand for mental health professionals continues to increase post-COVID-19. 

WHO IS AFFECTED?

While the majority of the population (70%) lives in close proximity to a mental health treatment facility (less than 10 miles), mental health provider shortages remain common. Populations with limited access to mental health care include:

• Rural communities, which are less likely to have a mental health treatment facility than metropolitan counties.
• Communities with a higher percentage of Black or Hispanic individuals.
• Low-income communities.
• Children compared with adults.

GOALS

Healthy People 2030 has multiple objectives related to mental health, including: 

• Increasing the proportion of adults with depression who get treatment.
• Increasing the proportion of adults with serious mental illness who get treatment.
• Increasing the proportion of primary care visits where adolescents and adults are screened for depression.

Source(s): https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/MHP/state/IN  Last accessed  March 2024.; 

(https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349229/mood-world.aspx). Last accessed March, 2024

WHAT WORKS?

Strategies to cope with shortages and bolster the number of mental health professionals include:

• Increasing the use of telemedicine.
• Using workforce development programs to provide mental health training to advanced practice nurses and primary care physicians.
• Providing adequate reimbursement for psychiatric services.
• Encouraging current medical students to become psychiatrists.
• Offering incentives to providers to practice in areas with a shortage of health professionals, like the National Health Service Corps’ Rural Community Loan Repayment Program.
• Integrating mental health into primary care settings, especially for younger populations. 
• Delivering mental health services in school or pediatric settings, which has been found to increase use of services by expanding access and reducing stigma associated with mental health treatment among youth.

Source(s): https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/MHP/state/IN  Last accessed  March 2024.;

The American Psychological Association in their 2023 Practitioner Pulse Survey, found that not only did more than half of psychologists (52%) say that they were seeing an increase in severity of symptoms among their patients, but 41% said that they were seeing an increase in the number of sessions spent treating each patient, which may reduce their capacity to accept new patients. Similarly, more than half (56%) said that they had no openings for new patients. And more than two-thirds (69%) of psychologists who maintained a waitlist said that the average wait was up to three months for a first appointment, while 31% said average wait times were longer than three months. More than one-third (36%) of psychologists reported experiencing burnout and 1 in 5 psychologists (21%) said that they were planning to reduce their practice hours in the next 12 months. 

Source: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/12/mental-health-access-challenges Last accessed  March 2024.

Perdue university embarked on a program in 2018 that will provide three pathways to build the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner workforce to assist primary physicians and ultimately better care for patients. NCHS, provided a four-year, $734,383 grant to support development and launch the program. The program will provide additional health care professionals who can work with patients to address a variety of mental health conditions.

The passage of the ACA accelerated the development and implementation of innovative care models. One of the most promising new care models is the patient-centered medical home (PCMH), which aims to treat the whole person and is designed to address behavioral health care needs within the primary care setting. The PCMH model emphasizes the provision of comprehensive, multidisciplinary primary care, extensive social services, and behavioral and dental services, regardless of a person's ability to pay.

Implementation of telepsychiatry practice and training within the curriculum of psychiatry and other medical residencies, as well as the exposure of residents to diverse settings, develops physicians who are knowledgeable and comfortable with both technology and integrated care models. Residency programs must take reasonable steps to ensure that physicians throughout their careers demonstrate competence with all these diverse practices and settings and express understanding of the potential effect on services for patients and other health care professionals.

Source: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/12/mental-health-access-challenges Last accessed  March 2024.

https://www.purdue.edu/hhs/nur/nurse-online/2017fall/features/new-mental-health-program-address-critical-shortage-of-providers.php  ast accessed  March 2024.

https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/MHP/state/IN Last accessed March 2024.

https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/MHP/state/IN  Last accessed 02/07/2023

https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/MHP/state/IN  Last accessed 11 July 2022