Mental health professionals play a critical role in healthcare. Whether they support substance abuse disorders, depression, or other psychological disorders, there are only so many hours in the day to treat the people that need help. To help ensure quality care, states and respective agencies set guidelines for mental health staffing ratios of clients to providers.
The trend shows that the ratio of clients to providers has increased. Recent data from PsychiatryOnline.com reports that from 2009 – 2021:
- Clients served by mental health clinics increased by an estimated 62.2%, yet staffing increased by just 37.7%
- For the same period, therapists fell from 8.8 FTEs per 1,000 clients in 2009 to 6.8 FTEs per 1,000 clients in 2021
- 22.7% drop in the behavioral health ratio
- Another way to look at this
- In 2009, one FTE served just over 113 clients
- In 2021, one FTE served 147 clients
Jenna V. Graziano, LMHC, Senior Recruiter of Behavioral Health at Healthcare Recruiters International, says, “In private practice, several factors have significantly increased the demand for mental health services, leading to a higher therapist-to-client ratio. The expectation for face-to-face client hours was around 20 to 25 per week, but it has now risen closer to 25 to 30 hours.” That is a rise in therapy hours by up to 25% per week.
Jenna, who can also be found on LinkedIn, continues, “This increase doesn’t account for the administrative duties that remain unchanged—such as completing notes, treatment plans, and other essential tasks—which further adds to the workload. As a result, therapists are finding it increasingly difficult to prioritize self-care and maintain a healthy work-life balance.”
Clearly, there are fewer therapists per client ratio now than ever before. This can lead to stress and burnout for providers. Managing behavioral staff ratios to state or agency guidelines should be the minimum. Ideally, you want a ratio that promotes an exceptional working environment for your therapists. This ideal ratio is up to you. Here are some ideas to help improve your ratio:
- Hire more licensed therapists, knowing this will increase your budget
- Hire some Associate therapists (where applicable) and train them up while waiting for full licensure
- Less impact on the budget
- Interns can also help in a crunch
- Offer self-care programs
- Yoga or Meditation sessions
- Gym memberships
- Free up therapist’s administrative duties using software
- Intuitive EMR software
- Note taking software e.g. Autonotes
If you would like advice on how to make your staffing ratios work, or need help finding talented therapists, Healthcare Recruiters International is the number one staffing agency for Behavioral Health and we would love to help you. Finding the right match is what we do. Reach out to HealthCare Recruiters International today.
