Mental Health Workforce in New England
As mental health challenges among college students pervade, understanding the capacity and diversity of the mental health workforce is critical to meeting the needs of students and communities. Building on insights from the recent policy brief on college student mental health, this is “Mental Health Workforce in New England,” a data snapshot authored by New England Board of Higher Education Policy & Research student intern Federico Gonzalez Rodriguez.
This data snapshot examines key trends in the region’s mental health workforce including demand, availability, and demographic representation. This resource equips higher education and government leaders with timely insights to address student mental health challenges and foster the development of a robust, representative mental health workforce.
Highlights of the data snapshot:
- There is a shortage of mental health workers in New England.
- The shortage is highest in Rhode Island, Vermont, and Maine.
- There is a particularly high shortage of psychiatrists, followed, to a lesser degree, by social workers.
- Psychiatry, the occupation with the greatest shortage, is lacking gender and racial diversity.
Click to Read the Data Snapshot
Addressing these gaps is essential to ensuring all students have equitable access to the support they need. Higher education and policy leaders are invited to explore the full data snapshot and join the conversation on how to strengthen and diversify the region’s mental health workforce.
College Student Mental Health in the Post-Covid Era
In the wake of the COVID pandemic, the prevalence of college students’ mental health struggles has reached crisis levels. For instance, students’ stress levels as reported by the American College Health Association in 2023 were equivalent to those of returning-combat troops.
“College Student Mental Health in the Post-COVID Era: Education and Workforce-Aligned Solutions Needed in New England,” a new policy brief co-authored by Grace Moore, Policy & Research student intern, and Rachael Conway, policy analyst, proposes seven policy recommendations for higher education and government leaders to address this challenge.
Highlights of the brief:
- The American College Health Association’s (ACHA) 2023 national survey of over 18,000 undergraduate students found that 23% of undergraduates were experiencing serious psychological distress, 28% screened positively for suicidal ideation or behavior, 53% were experiencing loneliness, and 79% experienced moderate or severe stress in the past 30 days (American College Health Association, 2023).
- Students of color experience mental health challenges at disproportionate rates, particularly among Native American and Pacific Islander students.
- The mental health provider field—both nationally and in New England—lacks diversity. The majority of providers (75% nationally and 79% in New England) identify as White women.
- Higher education and government leaders can work in concert to address the mental health crisis through an equity lens by taking a three-pronged approach that includes recruitment and retention of new, diverse talent into the mental health field; support for the current mental health workforce; and bolstering the capacity of on-campus mental health support systems.