In the midst of a youth mental health crisis, Kaiser’s unionized mental health professionals – psycholgists, therapists, chemical dependency counselors and social workers – are striking this week, demanding Kaiser Permamente provide “desperately needed” services to patients currently waiting months for necessary therapy sessions, CNN reports.

The National Union of Healthcare Workers, representing 16,000 workers in California and Hawaii, said that Kaiser currently has about “one full-time mental health clinician for every 2,600 members, leading to therapists leaving Kaiser at a record rate.”

In a press release, the striking clinicians said Kaiser, whose 2021 reported net profit was $8.1 billion, “refuses to adequately invest in additional staff; take steps to reduce the burnout of current employees; and do what is necessary to bring its mental health clinics into parity with other health services the HMO provides.”

Union president Sal Rosselli asserted in a statement, “Patients are getting ripped off while Kaiser’s coffers are bulging. We don’t take striking lightly but it’s time to take a stand and make Kaiser spend some of its billions on mental health care.”

The need for mental health services is acute. The World Health Organization reported that anxiety and depression rose 25% worldwide during the first year of the pandemic. The American Academy of Pediatrics has declared “a national emergency” around youth mental health. Amidst this surge in need, Kaiser mental health professionals are stretched woefully thin. Kaiser’s union reports that “patients who need therapy every week or every two weeks are waiting months to start therapy regimens, and then another four to eight weeks between appointments.”

KQED reported Kaiser’s response in a statement on Sunday after talks broke down. Regional senior vice president of human resources Deb Catsavas said Kaiser has “the deepest appreciation and gratitude for our mental health professionals and the extraordinary care they provide to our members.” But, she added, despite hiring nearly 200 new clinicians since January 2021 and launching an initiative to recruit new ones, “there are not enough mental health care professionals to meet the need.”

After a year of failed contract negotiations, the clinicians voted to go on strike in June. Last November, unions and Kaiser management came to an agreement to avert a strike that would have involved 32,000 health care professionals.

Read the CNN article here.

Read more from KQED here.

Maruf, Ramishah. “More than 2,000 California mental health clinicians set to strike.” CNN.com, 14 Aug 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/14/business/kaiser-mental-health-clinicians-strike/index.html.

Photo by Lesley McClurg/KQED

The lack of affordable, accessible care is one of multiple reasons CASSY’s mental health professionals are on Bay Area school campuses, bringing down barriers so students receive the support and services they deserve.