Veterans health care: Efforts to hire licensed professional mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists : report to congressional committees

Veterans health care: Efforts to hire licensed professional mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists : report to congressional committees

Collection:
Health Policy and Services Research
Alternate Title(s):
Efforts to hire licensed professional mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists: report to congressional committees
Contributor(s):
United States. Government Accountability Office, issuing body.
United States. Congress, issuing body.
Publication:
Washington, DC : United States Government Accountability Office, March 2022
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Subject(s):
Government Regulation
Mental Health Services -- supply & distribution
Veterans Health Services -- organization & administration
United States
United States. Department of Veterans Affairs
Genre(s):
Technical Report
Abstract:
Why GAO did this study. Demand for VA mental health care is growing. The number of veterans provided mental health care services by VHA increased by 85 percent from 2006 through 2020. This growth poses challenges for VHA in maintaining an adequate mental health workforce that provides timely, high-quality services. It is compounded by the nationwide shortage of mental health professionals. VHA typically relies on four types of mental health professions to provide psychotherapy services: psychologists, social workers, and, since 2010, LPMHCs and MFTs. The Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019 included a provision for GAO to review staffing levels for mental health professionals in VA, in particular for LPMHCs and MFTs. This report describes (1) VHA efforts to promote the hiring of LPMHCs and MFTs in VA medical facilities; and (2) the extent to which VA medical facilities are employing LPMHCs and MFTs and how their recent employment compares with other mental health professions. GAO reviewed VHA documents related to LPMHC and MFT hiring, analyzed VHA staffing information on employed LPMHCs and MFTs for fiscal years 2010 through 2021, and compared LPMHCs and MFTs to other mental health professions for fiscal year 2021. GAO interviewed mental health and human resources officials from VHA and from five of its regional networks selected for variation in LPMHC and MFT employment and rurality. GAO also interviewed four associations that represent LPMHCs or MFTs.
Copyright:
The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
Extent:
1 online resource (1 PDF file (ii, 28 pages))
Illustrations:
Illustrations
NLM Unique ID:
9918434584906676 (See catalog record)
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918434584906676