<aside> <img src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/76b60856-78ce-43cc-9b47-eef3eb1364ef/address-book.png" alt="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/76b60856-78ce-43cc-9b47-eef3eb1364ef/address-book.png" width="40px" /> Comment on Notion, email me [email protected], and DM me @lukassteinbock and for any questions, comments, and feedback.
</aside>
In my many conversations with industry professionals, I had three major problems come up consistently: supply-demand Imbalance, lack of outcomes, and stigma. To see what can be done about these challenges, check out the Solutions page.
Some stats...
<aside> 💡 300 million people who need care aren’t getting it globally which represents about two-thirds of those who are diagnosed with some sort of mental health condition.
</aside>
<aside> 💡 Ginger did a research study calling 50 different therapists. Of those 50, 70% didn’t return the call, 12% didn’t have contact info, 12% were not taking new clients, and only 8% said that they could get the patient in. For mental health being such an in the moment issue, this is an unacceptable situation for a suffering patient to be faced with.
</aside>
<aside> 💡 In a study done by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, there are 13.7 psychologists per 100,000 people and 5.8 psychiatrists per 100,000 people in non-metropolitan areas. In rural counties, these numbers drop to 9.1 psychologists and 3.4 psychiatrists per 100,000 people.
</aside>
Although this issue exists for a majority of Americans, it is especially devastating for those in more remote areas. As Ed Gaussen, Co-Founder and CEO of Mantra Health, explained to me, "the market is competitive, 1 in 3 Americans live in an area of mental health provider shortage."
In a study.) done by the American Psychological Association, they agree that there is currently an unmet need of psychologist supply but gives hope in solving the problem saying that by 2030 “supply will meet or exceed baseline demand, under the Affordable Care Act and demand in the geographic equivalence scenario.”
Stigma is quite possibly the most nuanced problem in the space because it cannot simply be solved by a strong business model or a great finance team. This problem is a marketing one and it will be solved when the dialogue of the public changes.
The decrease of stigma due to COVID-19 and future progress will bring only more patients into the field but also more clinicians. As the stigma around seeking mental health care decreases, the demand for mental health care will increase as well. Furthermore, more individuals will gain interest in clinical psychology.
There are no industry standards for proper outcomes in the behavioral health space.
First, let's discuss the gold-standard clinical measurement methods in behavioral health. For anxiety, that is the GAD-7. For depression, that is the PHQ-2 and PHQ-9. Lastly, the Beck is also gold-standard. Although these tests are gold-standard we should purely rely on them to measure BH outcomes. There are more objective measures such as sleep, activity, and quality of life that should be assessed in conjunction with these more objective measures.
I'll end this section out with a quote from Ed Gaussen, CEO and co-founder of Mantra Health.
