Under the most conservative projections, by 2025, shortages are projected in a number of key behavioral health professions.
US DHHS Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Bureau of Health Workforce has released the National Projections of Supply and Demand for Behavioral Health Practitioners: 2013-2025 Report. The report presents national workforce projections for 9 disciplines including behavioral health providers, which includes psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, addiction counselors, behavioral health social workers and counselors, school counselors, and marriage and family therapists. Two different methodologies were used for the analysis, both of which projected shortages of behavioral health providers in 2025. See what HRSA’s Acting Administrator, Jim Macrae, and SAMHSA’s Principal Deputy Administrator, Kana Enomoto, had to say about the nation’s behavioral health workforce on HHS’ blog. http://www.hhs.gov/blog/2016/11/17/projecting-supply-and-demand-behavioral-health-practitioners.html