Demand for mental health services in the United States has risen drastically in recent years. At the same time, a relatively limited number of mental health practitioners has created what the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis describes as a crisis, with 122 million Americans living in an area with a mental health professional shortage.
These factors put increased demand and stress on existing practitioners, subsequently increasing their workloads and their risk for burnout. In fact, studies suggest that over 50% of healthcare providers experience burnout — far more than the general population.
As Jon Read, co-founder of Confidant Health explains, while this poses a significant challenge for mental health practitioners, there are steps that can be taken to relieve the burden.
The Link Between Demand and Practitioner Burnout
"The increasing demand for behavioral health services has significantly amplified pressure on providers," Read explains. "Today, there are more individuals seeking care than can be seen by the existing workforce. To meet this demand, providers often stretch themselves thin — working full clinical days and then spending their evenings on documentation and administrative tasks. These administrative burdens can account for 30% to 40% more work outside of patient sessions, eating into personal time, family life and opportunities for self-care."
The extended hours and lack of personal time and self-care can create a major imbalance for providers, who often feel a strong sense of obligation to meet the needs of patients in their area. However, this mindset also contributes heavily to provider burnout, as clinicians are left with little bandwidth to rest or recharge.
Why Demand for Mental Health Services Has Increased
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for mental health services had been rising. But the pandemic itself led to a dramatic acceleration in reporting of mental health issues and demand for services.
According to a report by the American Psychological Association, by 2022, reporting of anxiety disorders had increased 79% since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reporting of depressive disorders had increased by 66%, while reporting of trauma and stressor related disorders grew by 64%.
Of course, the pandemic itself isn't the only factor that has led to increased demand. Read notes that factors like greater awareness of mental health issues, reduced stigma around seeking care,
improved public understanding of substance use disorders and treatments and heavy marketing by online therapy platforms have all played a role in increasing visibility and demand for mental health services.
"Even before the pandemic, the average wait time from symptom onset to receiving care was 10 years," Read says. "Today, demand spans across all types of behavioral health services, from therapy to medication management to addiction treatment — reflecting a growing societal need for accessible, high-quality care. This puts even more pressure on practitioners "
How Confidant Health Helps Providers Manage Demand
In Read's view, many of the challenges facing mental health practitioners today are linked to maintaining their administrative burden on top of a heavy patient load. With that focus, Confidant Health places its emphasis on addressing many of the administrative issues that can become problematic for busy practitioners.
"Confidant Health is designed to dramatically reduce provider burnout by removing 95% of administrative burdens," Read explains. "Think of it as giving each provider a dedicated support team. We assist with appointment planning, session documentation, capturing and organizing important patient data, crisis management, release of information and coordination of data sharing, pharmacy issues, prior authorization and other billing issues to make this work more streamlined and less time-consuming. Confidant also helps practitioners with their ongoing training by providing evidence-based exercises and intervention suggestions."
From Read's perspective, offering comprehensive end-to-end support on administrative tasks allows providers to focus on what they do best — helping patients — while also enabling them to reclaim time for themselves and their families.
"When you eliminate large chunks of administrative work, you make it possible for clinicians to maintain sustainable schedules and avoid burnout long-term," he says. "This even includes using risk management flags to help providers deliver care safely and connect to HLOC (higher level of care) when needed. Each of these supports adds up to make a real difference for practitioners."
What Practitioners Can Do to Avoid Burnout
While getting external support through resources like Confidant can certainly help mental health practitioners, Read recognizes that this is only one part of the puzzle. "As many distractions and responsibilities as there can be, providers need to proactively protect their well-being," he says.
"This can be done through simple things, like prioritizing self-care through hobbies, rest and exercise, improving their organization around daily workflows and setting boundaries to preserve time for non-clinical life. Staying connected to their purpose and what brought them into this field can also provide much-needed perspective and motivation during especially challenging periods."
By regaining time and clarity, clinicians are better able to remain present in their work, support their patients effectively and sustain their careers in behavioral health.
Setting Health Standards, Even With Increased Demand
Increased demand for mental health services has clearly created additional challenges for mental health practitioners, greatly increasing the risk of burnout for many. But as Read's insights illustrate, there is much practitioners can do to alleviate their own feelings of stress and overwhelm.
By using resources like Confidant Health to reduce their administrative burden and proactively taking steps like setting boundaries, prioritizing self-care and improving their level of organization, practitioners can stay healthy even as they provide much-needed support to others.
