Sharing – Getting Real About the Therapist Shortage

Dr. Castro does a really good job after this introduction of breaking down why we don’t have enough therapists and why it’s highly unlikely we ever will.

“For the past few years, we’ve seen billions of dollars poured into digital mental health companies, including gig therapy platforms like Talkspace and BetterHelp. And yet, despite so much investment, these companies have failed to address a fundamental issue: we don’t have enough therapists.

Fortunately, there’s now a federal strategy to resolve the provider shortage as part of President Biden’s plan to address the nation’s mental health crisis. It’s about time an issue as complex as this one receives federal attention and strategic investment.

Let’s break down what it means when we talk about a therapist shortage, and why we believe non-therapy alternatives must be part of the strategy to address it.”

As she puts it, there’s a shortage of therapists in general, a shortage of therapists that take insurance, and a shortage of therapists with specialized training. None of that will change without significant changes to the mental health system, and even if it did, we still wouldn’t have enough therapists, especially in rural areas.

So yes, make the investments and change the rules to help, but we will need more, and we should be doing everything we can to research what else helps, what doesn’t and create those other solutions.

It’s all part of the same problem, and there will not be one solution. We need to have more for the people who need it.

https://therapy4thepeople.org/getting-real-about-the-therapist-shortage/