The mental health treatment gap is the difference between the number of people who need mental health treatment and the number of people who get the treatment they need. In the U.S., a country with some of the most advanced mental health treatment resources on earth available, the treatment gap is far too large.
For instance, in 2022 in the U.S.:
- 30 million people with mild/moderate mental illness didn’t get treatment
- 5 million people with serious mental illness didn’t get treatment
- 9 million people who had a major depressive episode didn’t get treatment
- 6 million people with opioid use disorder didn’t get treatment
- 5 million people with alcohol use disorder didn’t get treatment
Those numbers are far too large – and we have the resources to close the treatment gap. What we need is the will – among the public and among policymakers – to allocate resources that reduce barriers to care, decrease stigma, and increase access to mental health treatment for everyone.
The treatment gap in the U.S. is significant and needs to close, but what about the treatment gap, worldwide?
A new study called “Effective Treatment for Mental and Substance Use Disorders in 21 Countries” examines rates of treatment for people with mental health disorders around the world, and the barriers to care that prevent, dissuade, or discourage them from engaging in evidence-based treatment.
What Percentage of People Who Needed Treatment Got Treatment?
Correspondents for the online science publication Science Daily contacted the authors of the study to learn more about the results. Members of the research team explained that they conducted the study drawing on data collected over 20 years, between 1993 and 2014. They examined four stages of mental health treatment, and calculated the percentage of people who moved successfully from one phase to the next. Then, they calculated the final percentage of people who received effective treatment.
Here’s what they found:
Stage One, Recognizing Treatment Need:
46.5% of people who met criteria for a mental health disorder recognized they needed professional support.
Stage Two, Contacting Healthcare Providers:
34.1% of people who recognized they needed professional support for a mental health disorder sought professional support.
Stage Three, Receiving Minimum Level of Adequate Treatment:
82.9% of people who sought professional support received the minimum level of adequate treatment.
Stage Four, Receiving Effective Treatment:
47% of people who received the minimum level of adequate treatment eventually received effective treatment.
As the statistics show, the number of people who follow up on their treatment decreased with each phase, leaving researchers with a final number:
Among 57,000 patients in 21 countries over 20 years, only 6.9% of got effective treatment.
We’ll discuss this outcome below.
Closing the Treatment Gap Worldwide and Here at Home
Interviews with Science Daily show the study authors understand the two main reasons we have a worldwide treatment gap of 93.1 percent:
- Not enough people recognize they need treatment.
- Among those who do recognize they need treatment, follow-through and follow-up is a problem. After contacting healthcare providers, a small percentage go on to contact a specialist and receive effective care.
Based on this information, one approach can change things for millions of people. We can train primary care physicians, family doctors, and general practitioners to effectively identify and treat mild to moderate mental illness, training them to understand when their patients need the support of a specialist, and ensuring they refer them to specialists when needed.
That’s as true here in the U.S. as it is worldwide. When our first line medical personnel are trained to manage or triage mental health disorders effectively, we can offer more people the support they need, when they need it.
What is Effective Mental Health Treatment?
Effective mental health treatment is evidence-based, data-driven, and delivered by trained, licensed mental heath professionals. An evidence-based treatment plan will include:
- Psychotherapy
- Medication (if needed)
- Lifestyle changes: diet, exercise, sleep, stress management
- Family participation in treatment
- Complementary support: mindfulness, yoga, acupuncture, experiential therapies
- Peer support: community support groups
When a person with a mental health disorder gets an accurate diagnosis, a referral for treatment, and engages in evidence-based treatment, outcomes improve. We know because we see people benefit from this process every day.
Gianna Melendez
Jodie Dahl, CpHT