Need for mental health care grows in North Dakota as there continues to be shortage of providers
NORTH DAKOTA (KVRR) — Thousands of North Dakota residents have been experiencing long wait times or are simply unable to receive mental health care when they need it.
“We do have people that are waiting weeks or months without receiving care. So their conditions get worse, and it becomes more costly when they are able to receive care,” said Caitlin Hochul, Senior Vice President of Public Policy at Inseparable.
Inseparable, a national mental health advocacy organization, compiled information from numerous mental health state agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services. According to the report, North Dakota has met just 34.9% of its need for mental health services.
“It makes a lot of sense, it’s also disheartening. But I get it. Education is expensive, there are a lot of people who might want to go on and further their careers, but really aren’t in a place where they can afford that or don’t want to be settled with the student loans that accompany graduate school,” said Dr. Alexandra Kohlhase, Clinical Psychologist at Essentia Health.
Many of the contributing factors to why the shortages exist include low pay, long wait times, and underinvestment in the field. For every $1 a medical or surgical clinician earns in North Dakota, a psychiatrist earns 82 cents, creating a pay gap that pushes providers out of the field and deters new clinicians from joining.
“There’s often a lot of financial barriers that providers have to go through in order to become licensed. So by providing scholarships and low-repayment programs and making sure that people are receiving a fair and livable wage, that encourages more people to enter the field and stay in the field,” said Hochul.
While the state is still working on tackling mental health care, Essentia Health has been offering training to aspiring doctors to become mental health professionals.
