America is experiencing a mental health crisis.
A high prevalence of mental illness, lack of resources, and stigma around asking for help means many Americans are not receiving the treatment they need to live happy and healthy lives.
An estimated one in five American adults experiences mental illness in any given year, and one in six children and adolescents. This number is growing, with anxiety disorders most common.
What are the barriers to mental health treatment?
The major reason Americans are not receiving mental health treatment are financial. The 2019 census revealed approximately 26.1 million people are uninsured, which is very prohibitive.
Lack of access is the next biggest barrier, especially for people living in rural areas with few practitioners, or people living in heavily populated urban areas where waiting lists are long.
Finally, we still have a lot of educating to do. Stigma is real and many people don’t know where to turn when they want to talk about their mental health.
So how can mental health professionals help?
The outlook for people living with untreated mental illnesses can be severe, affecting everything from work to relationships, physical health, and more.
That’s why Nancy Cowden, a licensed marriage and family therapist from California, has decided to embrace technology and do something about it.
Counseling Connection is a new online booking service for mental health professionals, designed to bridge the gap between those who need mental health support and those who can provide it.
It’s a simple system that means prospective clients can see your availability at a glance and not have to make call after call, and email after email, just to be turned away without getting the help they need.
Counseling Connection will be launching soon.
If you’d like to learn more about how this will revolutionize the way we deliver mental health services across America, click the link below.
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