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Resources by Topic: Behavioral health workforce

Mental Health Care: Access Challenges for Covered Consumers and Relevant Federal Efforts
Explores the experiences of consumers with health insurance coverage in accessing timely and appropriate mental health care. Describes challenges accessing mental health services, including workforce shortages and broadband availability in rural areas. Identifies ongoing and planned federal efforts to address these challenges.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 03/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Veterans Health Care: Efforts to Hire Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists
Describes efforts taken by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to promote the hiring of licensed professional mental health counselors (LPMHC) and marriage and family therapists (MFT) at Department of Veterans Affairs' facilities. Examines the extent to which VA medical facilities are employing LPMHCs and MFTs and how their recent employment compares with other mental health professions. Discusses considerations regarding the availability of LPMHCs and MFTs in rural communities.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 03/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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National Health Service Corps Site Reference Guide
Provides clarification for National Health Service Corps (NHSC) sites regarding eligibility requirements, qualification factors, compliance, roles and responsibilities, and other factors for becoming an NHSC approved site. Acts as a supplemental resource to the information provided in the online NHSC Site Application.
Date: 03/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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Mental Health in Rural Areas
Policy position paper focused on mental health in rural areas. Discusses barriers and policy recommendations regarding the availability, access, and acceptability of mental health care in rural communities.
Author(s): Brenda Mack, Heather Whetsell, Janessa M. Graves
Date: 02/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Meeting the Behavioral Health Needs of Farm Families in Times of Economic Distress
Offers strategies to support development and integration of behavioral health services across healthcare and community-based organizations, including leveraging payment systems to support coordinated care for farm families and aligning federal grant programs to address mental health and substance use disorders. Features recommendations including integrating primary and behavioral care for initial treatment of mental health and substance abuse concerns, expanding the workforce to improve rural behavioral health services capacity, increasing telehealth services, and expanding private and public insurance coverage.
Author(s): Andrew F. Coburn, Alva O. Ferdinand, Alana Knudson, et al.
Date: 02/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Training Psychiatrists in New Mexico: Reflections from Psychiatry Residents Who Participated in a Rural Track Versus a Traditional Program Alone over the Past Decade
Presents results of a survey of 74 University of New Mexico psychiatry residents, comparing responses from those who participated in the school's Rural Psychiatry Track (RPT) to non-RPT residents. Describes the experiences of the residents and the RPT program's impacts on the likelihood of residents moving into rural practice.
Author(s): Cynthia Killough, Erin Rush Ortegon, Rahul Vasireddy, et al.
Citation: Academic Psychiatry, 46, 470-474
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
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Assessment of the Capacity of Virginia's Licensed Behavioral Health Workforce
Provides statewide and locality-specific data on the capacity of each of Virginia's licensed behavioral health (BH) professional types, data regarding Virginia's pipeline to produce more BH professionals, current demand for them, and the consequences of an inadequate supply. Features county-level maps showing distribution of psychiatrists, psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners, licensed clinical psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, and licensed professional counselors, and a map showing Virginia Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas with limited broadband service.
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Virginia Health Care Foundation
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Utah's Loan Repayment Awards Map
Map details the distribution of Utah's state loan repayment program funding. Highlights the funding issued via the Healthcare Workforce, Rural Physician Loan Repayment, and Behavioral Health Workforce programs for the previous year.
Date: 2022
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: Utah Office of Primary Care and Rural Health
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Addressing Burnout in the Behavioral Health Workforce Through Organizational Strategies
Offers organization-level interventions to prevent and reduce burnout among behavioral health workers and provides examples of strategies used by other organizations to address burnout. Mentions challenges that contribute to burnout in rural areas, including low occupational prestige and workforce shortages.
Date: 2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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The Regional Distribution of Psychiatric Residency Positions Funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Its Relationship to Rural Veteran Populations
Details a study on the geographic distribution of psychiatry residency positions funded by the VA from 2014-2020. Breaks down data by residency locations, positions available, and rural versus urban areas served, among other measures.
Author(s): Matthew Vincenti, Anthony Albanese, Edward Bope, Bradley V. Watts
Citation: Academic Psychiatry, 46, 435-440
Date: 2022
Type: Document
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