Last July, President Biden declared, “Mental healthcare is healthcare.” That quote from the bully pulpit of the president is a sign that the perception of mental health as a crucial part of wellness has come a long way.

But I would suggest there’s still progress to be made, and accessing mental healthcare in the United States remains challenging for a number of reasons. Chief among the barriers? There simply aren’t enough mental healthcare providers, especially outside of the major metropolitan cities. 

About three in five rural Americans live in a mental healthcare provider shortage area. Additionally, stigma around seeking mental healthcare persists: one in five Americans struggle with their mental health, but 60% of that group never seeks treatment. 

Improving access to mental healthcare has been a challenge for quite some time, and the pandemic — with its impact on the mental health of so many and the difficulties COVID-19 posed around visiting a mental healthcare professional in person — shone a spotlight on this issue. 

Here are four key steps I believe can improve mental healthcare access in the U.S. 

1. Implement a multilayered approach. 

There is a mental healthcare provider shortage; patients often wait months to get care. It’s a fact that more providers are leaving the mental health field than are entering it. For the foreseeable future, we are not going to be able to hire more mental health professionals as a way out of this problem.

A solution, however, does exist: a multilayered approach to care. Not everyone in need of mental health treatments requires the services of a psychiatrist. The mental healthcare sector can learn from how primary care physician practices implemented a multilayered approach by adding nurse practitioners and physician assistants to their offices.  

For mental health practices, there are a number of different layers that can be instituted, ranging from mental health coaching to therapy to psychiatry. The key is that these providers must work together. If they work in the same environment under a common medical director, under the same clinical oversight, this model will open up access.

2. Embrace virtual care.

Especially in rural areas, where there is an acute shortage of mental healthcare providers, introducing more virtual providers and platforms can begin to address the issue of access to mental healthcare. This approach enables those in need of care to access a mental healthcare provider from their own home —  without having to travel for hours to see a professional.  

I believe we need a systematic, holistic approach that emphasizes virtual and self-directed care. This new approach will require a virtual platform, which brings together coaching, therapy, and psychiatry. By linking those treatment levels together with self-directed, self-guided information, mental healthcare infrastructure can begin to ease the impacts of the shortage of mental healthcare providers. 

3. Erase the stigma.

I believe that Americans still perceive mental healthcare differently than physical healthcare. A persistent barrier that people have in accessing mental healthcare is simply the stigma.

The more Americans begin to seek mental healthcare for themselves, the sooner we can break down the stigma surrounding it. Offering digital platforms for mental healthcare is one way to get more Americans seeking the help they need. 

Many people still harbor the idea that if they are seen visiting a mental healthcare office, it will become public knowledge. They fear some people might think less of them for it. It’s a difficult perception to shake. I believe a digital solution, where people can engage with a mental healthcare professional from the privacy of their own home and at their own pace, can go a long way toward easing the stigma that still surrounds mental healthcare.  

4. Prevention is worth a pound of cure — even in mental healthcare. 

For far too long, Americans have seen mental healthcare through the prism of crisis care. But like the wellness movement in physical healthcare, there’s a growing approach to mental healthcare as consisting of preventative practices — not just crisis management. The focus of care must turn toward everyday tasks for maintaining mental well-being, such as getting enough sleep and enough downtime.   

When a person can build healthy practices and repetition into their life —  where they set aside time and focus on taking steps to lower anxiety, to address moderate levels of depression, to work on better sleep, and to handling grief — the need for crisis care will diminish. And these skills are all things that can be taught, so that they can learn to do it on their own. What’s more, there are virtual tools and apps that can support people in learning these skills, from meditation and mindfulness to stress reduction and sleep techniques.

Ultimately, the future of mental healthcare requires science-backed solutions where people start to view their mental well-being more on a preventive basis. 

If you’d like to hear more of my perspective on the barriers to access mental healthcare in the U.S., you can listen to my appearance on the “Beyond Access: Rethinking Mental Healthcare Solutions” episode of Becker’s Healthcare Podcast. 

Interested in learning about how Headspace can support your members in accessing a full spectrum of mental healthcare solutions? Contact us here.

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Jeff is the Vice President of Health Plan Development at Headspace, where he focuses on partnerships with health plans and other payers, to provide their members with access to Headspace’s mental health care services. He has been with Headspace since the fall of 2022. Prior to that, Jeff spent 20 years at Elevance Health on the Anthem National Accounts Client Management team, working with employers (sized between 3,000 and 65,000 employees). Jeff lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife and two sons.