Mental health care continues to lag behind in Arizona, even as the need grows

Mental health and substance abuse issues are on the rise in Arizona, placing additional demands on a system with too few professionals to help.

Nick Norman
| opinion maker

Despite the growing need for mental health services, Arizona faces a significant shortage of mental health professionals who can only meet people 40% of current personnel needs.

Ranking 47th in the country When it comes to access to care, residents struggle to get help.

To make matters worse, demand for mental health care is only expected to increase, putting further strain on an already strained system.

The number of cases of mental health problems is increasing. Rates of depression and anxiety, as well as drug overdoses and suicides, have increased in recent years.

Suicide reached one 12 years high in 2022. About 20% of the adult population is dealing with a mental illness, and 42% of teenagers reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.

Arizona needs more behavioral health professionals

Meanwhile, job openings in behavioral health care continue to grow.

According to the Arizona Board of Regents, the state needs more than 2,400 behavioral health professionals in the next six years. The U.S. Department of Labor projects in Arizona will be needed approximately 4,700 social workers by 2030.

This gap is further exacerbated by the trend of mental health physicians reportedly leaving the field, sometimes even to retail or food service, because of ridiculous compensation and rising costs of living.

Solving Arizona’s mental health crisis starts with addressing the mental health workforce crisis.

This can only be done by removing barriers to quality education, simplifying and accelerating the path to licensure, and retaining a workforce through sustainable and fair compensation.

Low wages and high education costs are barriers

Financial barriers are a major hurdle for many candidates seeking to become licensed in the mental health field.

The costs associated with obtaining a graduate degree, as well as accruing supervised clinical hours, licensing exams, and test preparation materials, are significant.

It becomes incredibly difficult to attract people to the field when the cost of becoming a qualified doctor far outweighs the potential compensation.

Some local organizations are trying to make an impact. The Arizona Department of Education has used federal funds to fill unfunded counselor and social work positions in schools, as has the state’s Medicaid program.

Colleges like Rio Salado are offering associate degree and certificate options in areas like addictions and substance abuse to get more students into the field.

There has also been an increase in the number of online programs available to help reduce the burden of accessing education.

Programs help, but more investment is needed

Clinical supervision alone may incur costs more than $10,000often a cost item left to graduates.

A recent survey shows that as many as 57% of eligible graduates not obtain a full license due to the high costs. Arizona needs more programming to alleviate these financial burdens.

The mental health field is in urgent need of qualified physicians who can commit to the work for the long term. If providing quality mental health care is to be a lifelong career, physicians must be adequately compensated and given affordable access to top-notch continuing education.

An investment in our physicians is an investment in the mental health of our community.

Arizona’s mental health workforce shortage is a major and urgent problem that requires multifaceted solutions. Initiatives by local schools to enroll more students in the field are critical steps toward addressing this crisis, but more needs to be done.

Significant, systemic investments must be made in mental health care if we hope to fill workforce vacancies and make an impact on the growing need for behavioral health care – and ultimately help those who need it most.

Nick Norman is a licensed, independent clinical social worker and business relations manager at Mindful Therapy Group, a network of licensed, independent mental health physicians serving several states, including Arizona. Reach out to the team [email protected].