Session Abstract: New developments in mental health workforce and needs assessment

This session describes new developments in national county-level mental health workforce and needs assessment. This information is critical for mental health planning and also identifies small areas eligible for federal supports such as National Health Service Corps placements. Historically, it has been difficult to develop a national picture of mental health workforce and needs due to data limitations. These fall in three areas: (1) the supply of mental health providers other than psychiatrists, (2) the prevalence of serious mental illness (SMI) in small areas and epidemiological models of prevalence, and (3) comparable estimates of utilization and need for individuals with and without SMI. The goal of this session is to present new developments that better assess national workforce counts, prevalence, and patterns of service utilization by individuals with and without SMI at a county level across the U.S. Session presentations include: 1. Mental health workforce and needs assessment: A history and rationale Thomas, Ellis, Konrad, Morrissey 2. The supply and co-location of mental health providers across the U.S. Ellis, Thomas, Konrad, Morrissey 3. Estimating need for mental health services across the U.S. Holzer, Thomas, Ellis, Konrad, Morrissey 4. Identifying unmet need for mental health services Konrad, Thomas, Ellis, Morrissey

Moderator: Ron Manderscheid Discussant: Joseph Morrissey

Session Organizer: Kathleen Thomas, (919)966-3387, kathleen_thomas@unc.edu