NORFOLK, Va. — The number of Americans seeking therapy is on the rise.
The latest numbers from RAND Corp. show that the number of people receiving mental health services has climbed by nearly 40% in just two years.
According to the latest numbers from the CDC, the share of all adults seeking counseling jumped from 9.5% to 12.6% from 2019 to 2022. In that same time, spending on mental health services increased by 53%, and overall use of those services increased by 39%.
A big driver of the increase is the rise of telehealth and the ability to access therapy online; services that weren’t easily accessible to many rural Americans are now just one click away.
That is why more than half of all therapy sessions now take place online or over the phone, according to a 2024 study by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
While the increase in people getting help is a positive shift in our culture, the strain on psychologists is an inevitable side effect.
Data from the American Psychological Association shows nearly half of mental health practitioners feel overworked and burned out.