According to an article in Oprah Daily, there’s been one surprising upside to the pandemic: mental wellness is receiving its proper due, as “many people realized the importance of prioritizing their mental health.” A number of public figures are using their platforms to draw attention to and help destigmatize mental health issues, according to C. Vaile Wright, Ph.D., of the American Psychological Association: “Celebrities and athletes use [social media] to talk about their mental health in ways we’ve never seen before, which has a downstream impact on individuals to also talk about it and normalize it, and then seek out help.”

Over the past two years, the forced isolation the pandemic created caused some people to “spend time with their emotions,” according to Lakeasha Sullivan, an Atlanta-based clinical psychologist. It also heightened a sense of loss: “We were collectively grieving many things, including intangible losses like a sense of community and normalcy.” For others, the pandemic turned simmering mental health issues into a full-blown crisis. Ken Duckworth, MD, Harvard University Medical School assistant clinical professor and medical director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) notes, “Demand [for therapists] has exploded because people are isolated – we’re social creatures; we need to connect.”

Therein lies the problem: more people are seeking out therapy or mental health services than ever before, and demand is far outstripping the number of available mental health professionals. The National Council for Mental Wellbeing reports that “seventy-seven percent of counties in the United States are experiencing a severe shortage of mental health providers.”

In response, new forms of mental health care are springing up. Benjamin F. Miller, a psychologist and president of the national foundation Well Being Trust, stresses that “care should be available where you are, whether it’s from your home and your personal device to a local practice.”

At CASSY, we wholeheartedly agree that “care should be available where you are.” We believe firmly in going where the need is – where the students are – in order to bring down barriers to getting mental health support. Partnering with local school districts, we are located on numerous school campuses, so students can walk in any time.

The article offers multiple alternative options available to those seeking mental health services: telehealth, finding a clinician in training working under the supervision of a licensed professional, or using warmlines if you just need to talk to an empathetic, trained individual who can relate to mental health issues.

Read the full Oprah Daily article here.

Burton, Isabel. “There’s a Shortage of Mental Health Providers. Now What?” Oprah Daily, 5 May 2022, https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/a39896184/theres-a-shortage-of-mental-health-providers-now-what/.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash