This website is being reviewed for updates. Some information is offline. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Behavioral health workforce

Comparative Effectiveness of Clinician Versus Peer Supported Problem-Solving Therapy for Rural Older Adults with Depression
Examines the effectiveness of clinician-supported versus peer counselor-supported Problem-Solving Therapy (PST) among 105 rural adults aged 60+ in California's Tuolomne, Calaveras, and Stanislaus counties.
Author(s): Brooke Hollister, Rebecca Crabb, Patricia Areán
Citation: Psychiatric Services, 75(9), 925-928
Date: 04/2024
view details
A Lack of Behavioral Health Providers in Medicare and Medicaid Impedes Enrollees' Access to Care
Examines the availability of behavioral health providers who actively serve Medicare or Medicaid enrollees in 20 counties, 10 urban and 10 rural, across 10 states in 2021. Explores the extent to which traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid enrollees received behavioral health services and whether they used telehealth or in-person services. Offers recommendations to encourage more behavioral health providers to serve these enrollees and expand coverage to additional behavioral health provider types. Includes rural and urban comparisons throughout.
Additional links: Report Highlights
Date: 03/2024
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
view details
California Health Professional Shortage Areas: Mental Health
County-level map showing California mental health high needs geographic Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), geographic HPSAs, and HPSA populations.
Date: 03/2024
Sponsoring organizations: California Department of Health Care Access and Information, California Health and Human Services Agency
view details
Kansas Center for Rural Health: Maternal Care Mapping Project
A recorded webinar describing a project that aims to map obstetric providers, facilities providing obstetric care, and mental health providers in Kansas. Provides data on 2021 live births and female residents per county.
Author(s): Karen Weis, Udana Urceo, Danielle Ast, Amy Garcia, Alexander Alsup
Date: 02/2024
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Nursing Workforce Center
view details
Quantifying Arizona's Mental Health Workforce Shortage Using Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) Data, Updated: January 2025
Report describing the shortages of psychiatrist physicians in Arizona. Data include shortages in both tribal nations and at a county-level.
Date: 01/2024
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
view details
Identifying Factors Associated with Variation in Telemental Health Delivery at Federally Qualified Health Centers
Examines telemental health delivery at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) across the U.S. Analyzes 1,270 FQHCs and their telemental appointments in 2021 and provides statistics according to mental health staffing, rurality of FQHC, state, and patient population descriptors, including age, race/ethnicity, and insurance status.
Author(s): Brianna Lombardi, Connor Sullivan, Maria Gaiser, et al.
Citation: Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 15
Date: 01/2024
view details
2022 Indiana Behavioral Health Workforce Report Series: Behavioral Health And Human Services Professionals
Provides information on the Indiana behavioral health workforce, such as license types, demographics, employment and practice characteristics, populations served and services provided, and more. Includes data on addiction and mental health counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists. Appendix provides county-level population to behavioral health workforce ratios.
Author(s): Yan Ge, Sierra Vaughn, Hannah Maxey
Date: 01/2024
Sponsoring organization: Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy
view details
A Federally Qualified Health Center and Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Partnership in Rural Missouri
Case study describing a medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) program partnership between a Federally Qualified Health Center and a certified community behavioral health clinic in rural southwest Missouri. Covers the infrastructure of the MOUD program, staffing and services, financing, and more. Highlights challenges and successes, as well as recommendations for other health centers interested in a similar partnership.
Author(s): Ashley Jasko, Meryl Schulman
Date: 01/2024
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
view details
El Dorado Community Health Centers: Addressing the Opioid Epidemic in Rural California through Community Partnerships
Case study describing how El Dorado Community Health Centers, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in California, works with a community coalition to address the opioid epidemic and implement a medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) program. Covers the infrastructure of the MOUD program, staffing and services, financing, and more. Highlights challenges and successes, as well as recommendations for other health centers.
Author(s): Ashley Jasko, Meryl Schulman
Date: 01/2024
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
view details
The Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022 (Division FF, Title I of P.L. 117-328, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023): Section-by-Section Summary
Provides a section-by-section summary of the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act, which was enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328) and reauthorized or amended specific federal programs related to mental health and substance use. Includes information on programs targeted to, or extending eligibility to, tribes and tribal organizations.
Date: 01/2024
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
view details