For Immediate Release: November 4, 2024
By Alison Medley, 713.320.0933
It’s a stark reality that ninety percent of Americans believe that there is a mental health crisis in the U.S., according to a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and CNN. In fact, a profound challenge for many Americans is simply lack of access to the vital mental health services they desperately need. Nearly 570 counties across the U.S. do not have psychologists, psychiatrists, or counselors. The result has been a proliferation of “mental health care deserts” in communities across the country.
According to Mental Health America, a third of the 50 million U.S. adults with a mental health condition are unable to get needed treatment, and about 11 percent lack health insurance.
To explore mental health disparities in Houston, University of Houston’s Dr. Chakema Carmack, Ph.D. and Dr. Damien Kelly, Ed.D. have collaborated on a new research initiative. The new research project is entitled, “Addressing Mental Health Disparities: A Geographic and Economic Analysis of Mental Services Gaps in Houston.” The team presented their findings at the annual 2024 Gulf Coast Consortia Mental Health Research Conference.
“There are huge discrepancies when it comes to getting people the mental health help that they need,” Kelly said. “We must fix this with grassroots efforts. If you are getting into the mental health profession, I would say that these distressed areas and neighborhoods really need your support and need your stewardship. It is so important to have interventions and boots on the ground.”
For Kelly, this project offered an opportunity to take a deeper dive into the Distressed Communities Index, assessing the lack of mental health services throughout Houston communities in five categories: distressed, at risk, mid-tier, comfortable and prosperous.
“We looked at the 97 zip codes in Houston. Overall, there are 3,000 mental health counselors listed in Houston,” Kelly said. “In these distressed areas, there are no licensed professional counselors (LPC), therapists listed in many of these communities.”
Carmack weighed in on how this initiative could help Houston’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.
“We’re looking at ‘mental health deserts’ from the perspective of the greater public health impact,” Carmack said. “What can be done on all levels—from the community level, grassroots level to the community organization and provider level? What is the city going about mental health concerns of the most vulnerable of our population? This is the kind of research that will start the conversation.”
Texas is currently grappling with a mental health workforce shortage, according to The Texas Tribune. Approximately 246 of Texas’ 254 counties have been partially or wholly designated by the federal government as “mental health professional shortage areas.”
The impact has been devastating in some rural regions which may have only one mental health professional or no provider at all to serve their community. The most pressing problem is that approximately 5 million Texans do not have health insurance. From Kelly’s perspective, one of the best ways to approach the deeper issue of improving mental health services is to consider the resources available in the community.
“I want something that people can use in real-time,” Kelly said. “We can work with school systems, churches, or even community parks, and collaborate with therapists who could work through community resource centers. We need to try to think outside of the box to better serve these communities—assessing the community resources and what we can utilize. There are community center, synagogues, and churches where you can set up shop as a therapist.”
The other crucial aspect for Kelly is to motivate young students who are interested in social work, psychology, psychiatry, or counseling to serve in their communities as mental health professionals.
“I believe in ‘people interventions’ more than government interventions," Kelly said. "Inspire people who are graduating that this is a great place to start your profession if you want to make an impact. Sometimes, you’re an army of one, and you are helping these communities. I may have coined the phrase ‘mental health deserts.’ I want to be at that precipice where we’re looking things in a different way.”
Effectively reducing the cost of mental health services is a solution that gets to the heart of the problem of access, according to Carmack.
“Everyone deserves quality mental health care. Policies that encourage free or low-cost mental health services would really help,” Carmack said. “Could we use those models to implement vouchers, low-cost services, sliding scales to alleviate the cost burden for those who cannot pay to see a therapist once a week? Even on a provider level—can we get an incentive to do pro-bono therapy?”
Carmack added that the initiative would first assess what the community’s needs are which would entail surveys, feasibility, or pilot study. Then, the next step would involve asking stakeholders and community health workers important contextual questions, including how accepting community members are to mental health services, what barriers and stigmas exist, and what issues are they seeing in the population. Finally, publication would be the next step for this project, which would entail publishing a needs assessment.
“For me, this objective is two-fold,” Carmack said. “It is about helping the people in the community getting the mental health services that they need and deserve, while changing their mind about utilizing these type of mental health services.”
The telemedicine and online mental health strategy doesn’t always resonate with people who desperately need to talk to a mental health professional, Carmack explained. That’s why we need mental health professionals in place, serving Houston communities.
“Online therapy is really great,” Carmack said. “But some populations aren’t really keen on getting mental health help online. You need to see a person, human being for the first time, at least the first few times, talk to them, feel their energy, build a sense of trust. There is an added layer—you also need people who are from the community who look like that you.”
Kelly emphasized how important it is to explore this timely topic of mental health and offer interventions which can work for people at a grassroots level. Serving as the host of HEALTH-RCMI's “Speak Your Peace” podcast, Kelly has explored the mental health crisis in America in podcast episodes, including, A Veteran's Experience: Mental Health Awareness and Drug Addiction with guest, Mike Flores.
“At the end of the day, hurt people hurt people,” Kelly said. “In order to have these interventions, we need boots on the ground, and we need people who are there in your community. If it takes an hour to take a bus to see your therapist, that is not accessible. Having mental health professionals in these neighborhoods will help when it comes to accessibility.”
--Alison Medley
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Alison Medley at 713.320.0933 or email aemedle2@central.uh.edu
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