Studies show that almost half of adults in the United States with a clinical-level mental problem do not seek professional help for their condition. Responses from 45,000+ individuals to the Mental Health Quotient (MHQ), a brief online assessment tool that asks respondents to evaluate their psychological and physical functioning, showed that mental health treatment is one of the least utilized health care services.
Reasons For Not Using Mental Health Therapy
There are many reasons for which a person may refrain from seeking mental health treatment, but the most common include concerns about affordability and negative stigmas associated with mental health. People often say they prefer to manage their challenges on their own or don’t think they need any mental health treatment from a professional. When asked to explain their reasoning, a few of the most common responses have been shown to include:
- A lack of knowledge of what kind of help to seek or where to get it
- A lack of confidence in mental health treatment options
- Stigma or fear of not wanting people to know about their condition
- A lack of affordability
In the United States, lack of confidence in the mental health system was – at 37% – the number one reason for not seeking professional intervention, followed by a lack of knowledge of what kind of help to seek (34%). Unaffordability was an obstacle to getting help for 25% of U. S. respondents, about the same percentage as those citing concerns about being stigmatized for seeking mental health treatment.
With these three roadblocks in mind, it is clear that patients need a mental health treatment solution that is affordable, accessible, and informative. ReviveHealth meets this dire need with subscription-based membership plans that cover every health need.
What Does This Mean for Mental Health Care?
The implications of these findings raise several questions about the nation’s mental health care system. Why do so few Americans have confidence or knowledge about available mental health care? Is it due to the maldistribution of mental health resources? Or, can this lack of confidence be attributed to a largely inaccessible and expensive health care system that charges patients unreasonably high costs for using their care?
Many current therapies – both psychological or pharmaceutical – are effective, but not as consistently as they should be. Furthermore, it is clear that there are insufficient mental health professionals to care for those needing services.
The cracks in the behavioral health system are likely to deepen. One of the consequences of the pandemic has been the significant number of people suffering emotional trauma either as part of the illness itself or as a result of the social isolation and personal hardships caused by it. These days, individuals need a reliable way to access mental health therapy and treatment when they need it most. That’s why we include same-day mental health therapy and mental health resources in all of our ReviveHealth memberships for no additional cost.
Summary
Ultimately, improving the accessibility of mental health services requires accomplishing the following three objectives:
- Lowering treatment costs
- Increasing access to care
- Improving mental health therapies themselves
ReviveHealth’s subscription-based programs work to rectify all three of these concerns. Each program provides same-day access to high-quality mental health treatments and therapy for no additional cost. Start your ReviveHealth membership today and receive the mental health treatment you need, when and where you need it.
