Mental health care use rose between 2019 and 2023, driven in part by increased symptoms of anxiety and depression, a
study in
Psychiatric Services has found.
Why It’s Relevant
So far, there has been no specific investigation into how changes in population symptoms may be correlated with patterns of mental health care use. Understanding the drivers of increased mental health use can help shape policy, particularly in light of longstanding concerns about shortages of mental health professionals.
By the Numbers
- Researchers analyzed data from 147,488 respondents in the 2019-2023 National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS).
- The percentage of individuals who reported any mental health care use in the past year rose from 19.2% to 23.8%.
- Psychotherapy use increased from 9.5% to 13.4%, while medication use increased from 15.7% to 18.8%.
- The percentage of individuals who felt anxious in the past year rose from 17.6% to 20.4%, whereas the number who felt depressed increased from 7.4% to 8%.
- The researchers estimated that 36.7% of the increase in mental health care use was associated with increases in depression and anxiety, while 11.3% was due to changes in insurance coverage.
The Other Side
The NHIS does not collect information on participants’ reasons for seeking mental health care, so the researchers couldn’t distinguish shifts in participants’ propensity to seek care from changes in symptoms due to treatment. In addition, the NHIS focuses specifically on anxiety and depression, so the analysis did not capture mental health care use for serious mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.
Takeaway Message
The researchers noted that one prior study estimated the use of mental health care in 1999 to be 7%. “The latest increases therefore seem to reflect an ongoing, long-term trend that is not limited to psychotherapy,” they wrote. “In the setting of increased population mental health needs, developing strategies to maintain access to affordable, high-quality, and effective mental health care for those who need it will be essential.”
Related Information
Source
Y. Nina Gao, et al. Probing the national increase in U.S. adult mental health care use, 2019-2023. Psychiatric Services. Published online September 11, 2026. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.20260060
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