From New Mexico CDPC:
We are members of the New Mexico Chronic Disease Prevention Council, Behavioral Health Work Group.
We have dedicated much of our time and efforts to spread awareness to all New Mexicans that big changes were needed to properly support behavioral health providers as they work harder than ever to meet the health demands present in New Mexico.
The US is experiencing incredible rates of Depression, Anxiety, and Trauma. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 15.5 million Americans (18 and older) experience clinically significant depression.
Additionally, 38.9 million U.S. adults experience regular feelings of worry, nervousness, or anxiety. New Mexicans’ needs are even higher than the U.S. average. Sept. 29 to Oct. 11, 2021, 31.9 percent of adults in New Mexico reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder, compared to 31.6 percent of adults in the U.S. Additionally, New Mexicans are 25 percent more likely than the average American to meet ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) definitions for disability.
Sadly, our providers are burning out at a higher rate due to increasing bureaucratic burdens and lack of supportive policy and legislation. This makes it harder to recruit new therapists and retain knowledgeable clinicians. Providers of all medical fields are leaving the state, leading to professional burn-out, compassion fatigue, and increasing suicide rates in these professions.
Furthermore, The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) has identified that over 50 percent of behavioral health providers report symptoms of burnout, and the rate of burnout will likely increase given continued growth in the number of people seeking behavioral health care and challenges to behavioral health care staffing and retention. As of 2021, 1,366,095 people in New Mexico live in communities without enough mental health professionals. In February of 2021, 54 percent of adult New Mexicans were unable to get needed counseling or therapy for anxiety or depression (National Alliance on Mental Illness [NAMI], 2021).
Mental Health providers help people deal with stress, lifestyle, complex trauma, and societal changes. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (2023), mental health conditions have been significantly worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns. More than 3 in 10 adults in the U.S. have reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder since May 2020, a 200 percent increase from 2019 rates. SAMHSA reports that over half of Americans report experiencing at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. Additionally, 11.9 million Americans currently live with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). New Mexico specifically has some of the highest rates of children suffering from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) coming in at 18 percent (experiencing 3 to 8) compared to the national average which is 11 percent. Mental Health providers recognize that our mental and physical health are interrelated. Yet, many policies (at both the Federal and State level) seem to make a false distinction between emotional and physical care.
Many barriers limit our capacity to provide Mental Health care. Providers face heavy paperwork and unreasonable delays to receive payment for services. This adds bureaucratic complexity and limits providers’ ability to work with their clients. Additionally, the behavioral health workforce experiences high levels of work-related stress, relatively low salaries, high student debt, and full caseloads. These combined factors place individuals working in the behavioral health field at high risk for experiencing burnout. Simpson et al.(2018) states that “more than any other work stressor, the workload psychotherapists face and the ensuing balance they must keep in order to maintain a semblance of normalcy seem to be the most distressing aspect of psychotherapy.”
We wanted to take time to say thank you so much for your continued support in helping us reduce barriers to providing solid mental health care in New Mexico by supporting SB 273, The Mental Health Parity Act, sponsored by Sen. Martin Hickey. We are pleased to inform you that this bill passed in both the House and the Senate and was signed by our Governor April 4! What a celebration! This policy will improve our ability to support New Mexicans’ health while cutting costs. Our state will save money on medical costs, incarceration rates, and crime and substance abuse rates. This policy will help existing behavioral health providers maintain their practices, support the workforce pipeline for future therapists to fill gaps in care, and better meet the health care needs of New Mexicans.
We look forward to continuing to support and advocate for the behavioral health needs of our people and of our communities, and can’t wait to see how this policy transforms the state of behavioral health in New Mexico! Congratulations! Your voices were heard!
