Amid a growing behavioral health crisis in the US, less than half of individuals who need services for mental health or substance use concerns receive care. Multiple factors impact access to behavioral health services, including payment, stigma, and the availability of a positioned behavioral health workforce in areas with the greatest need. Recent work demonstrates mental health professional shortage areas are associated with suicide deaths for adults and youth, and that rurality decreases behavioral health service utilization. Understanding national shortages and maldistribution of the behavioral health workforce can inform policy to increase access to behavioral health services.

This article explores the geographic distribution of 3 behavioral health clinician types in disadvantaged communities in the US across a standardized index of area disadvantage.

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