Help Wanted: Burned-Out Workforce Unsure of Ability to Address Surging Demand for Services

More than 4 in 5 behavioral healthcare workers (83%) surveyed believe that without public policy changes, provider organizations will be unable to meet surging demand for mental health and substance use disorder treatment services.

Findings from the survey, which was conducted by the Harris Poll on behalf of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, were released on Tuesday. The survey was conducted among 750 behavioral healthcare workers and more than 2000 US adults.

“Behavioral health organizations are seeing an increase in the severity of cases, and a backlog of young people in need of care has led to more youth being seen in emergency departments,” National Council President and CEO Chuck Ingoglia said in the report. “Taking steps now to bolster the workforce through increased recruitment and retention efforts and the continued expansion of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics will give organizations that provide mental health treatment and substance use care the resources they need to meet capacity.”

The National Council-sponsored survey also produced the following findings:

• About 90% of behavioral health workers said they are concerned about the ability for those not currently receiving care to gain access to treatment services, and 87% are concerned about the behavioral healthcare system’s capacity for providing care in the event of another health crisis.
• Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, 65% of respondents have seen an increased client caseload, and 72% reported increased client severity.
• Burnout has been experienced by 93% of workers in the field, with 62% reporting moderate or severe levels of burnout.
• Nearly half (48%) of survey respondents said workforce shortages have caused them to consider alternative employment options, and 83% worried that such shortages in mental health and substance use disorder treatment will negatively impact society as a whole.
• More than two-thirds (68%) of caregivers said the amount of time they spend on administrative tasks takes away from time that could be used to directly support clients, and a third of respondents said they are spending most of their time on administrative work.

The survey chronicling behavioral healthcare workers’ concerns comes as federal legislators discuss multiple healthcare workforce-related bills, including the Strengthening Community Care Act of 2023 (HR 2559) and the National Nursing Workforce Center Act of 2023 (HR 2411), each of which has had hearings in the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. In the Senate, meanwhile, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee recently held a hearing on options for addressing healthcare workforce shortages.

Potential Solutions

In addition to releasing its survey findings, the National Council proposed the following strategies for addressing behavioral healthcare workforce challenges:

• Create a behavioral health workforce demonstration. This initiative would be aimed at recruiting and retaining treatment staff at safety net provider organizations. Funding options to support retention bonuses, hazard pay, and overtime could help reduce high turnover and burnout rates, National Council said.
• Increase funding and expand national loan repayment programs. This would include the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), the NHSC SUD Workforce Loan Repayment Program, and the SUD Treatment and Recovery (STAR) Loan Repayment Program as a means to increase access to tuition assistance for the mental health and SUD treatment fields.
• Further support CCBHC implementation and financing. National Council noted in its release that clinics that have become CCBHCs have hired an average of 27 new positions per clinic and experienced an average 16% increase in their workforce.
• Support implementation of the Mental Health Access Improvement Act. Passed into law in late 2022, the bill would allow marriage and family therapists and licensed professional counselors to bill Medicare and provide support for this sector of the workforce in preparation for new billing structures.

National Council also advocated for efforts to reduce administrative burdens on clinical personnel, citing findings related to time spend on administrative tasks reported by clinicians in the workforce survey.

Reference

National Council for Mental Wellbeing. New Study: Behavioral Health Workforce Shortage Will Negatively Impact Society. National Council for Mental Wellbeing; 2023. Accessed April 25, 2023.