Mental Health Professionals: US Statistics 2017

The mental health workforce in the United States is barely keeping up with the growing need for its services. According to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there are more than 577,000 mental health professionals practicing in the U.S. today whose main focus is the treatment (and/or diagnosis) of a mental health or substance abuse concern. The data, the latest available, are from the 2016-2017 period. As people become more aware of the value of good mental health, they’re finding it increasingly difficult to access mental health services. Since 2011, the mental health professional workforce has only grown 4 percent while the population during the same time period has grown 3.5 percent. Psychologists continue to make up the largest segment of mental health professionals who can diagnose and treat mental disorders and other mental health concerns. More than 34 percent of psychologists are self-employed, mainly as private practitioners and independent consultants. Job opportunities for a psychologist should be the best for those with a doctoral degree in a specialty, such as health psychology, neuropsychology or forensic psychology; those with a master’s degree will have good prospects in industrial-organization; bachelor’s degree holders continue to have limited prospects working within the field. The worst news comes from the number of physicians who go into psychiatry. Psychiatry has suffered a devastating 36 decrease in its ranks since ...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: General Industrial and Workplace Mental Health and Wellness Psychiatry Psychology Mental Health Professionals Mental Health Statistics Source Type: blogs