Mental health challenges have been exacerbated during the coronavirus pandemic due to the rising costs of health care and insurance companies not covering therapy or counseling for many people nationwide, according to Thad Cardine, executive director of Shield Bearer Counseling Centers.
Cardine presented to the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce on April 7 on the region's mental health crisis and how it has been exacerbated by the pandemic and lockdowns.
According to Cardine’s presentation, an estimated 5.8 million Texans have a mental illness, and the state has six completed suicides per day and 30 suicide-related hospitalizations.
“Each year, millions of Americans with mental illness struggle to find care; nearly half of the 60 million adults and children living with mental health conditions in the United States will go without any treatment,” Cardine said.
He said many Texans do not pursue or receive help with their mental health because of the numerous obstacles they face after reaching out. Some of the barriers that Shield Bearer identified include high rates for sessions, out of pocket costs, a lack of providers, providers not accepting new clients, lack of insurance, no appropriate counselors available for specific ailments, therapists being outside of coverage, private provider rates and providers not accepting insurance.
Telehealth, hotlines and other issues
To alleviate some of these issues, telehealth became an option during the pandemic and has been proven to assist those with less serious mental health issues. Cardine said these services were useful at the moment, but the commercialized industry of telecounseling cannot meet the needs of patients due to the lack of resources and community connections.
Shield Bearer also recently tested out various suicide hotline numbers and found they had an average wait time of 25 minutes, according to Cardine. The group tried the hotlines in an attempt to gauge how quickly people in crises were receiving help since Shield Bearer does not currently provide crisis services and was hoping to learn more about how the crisis lines connect to those in need.
These services are becoming more essential and busier as the mental health epidemic rages on.
“Those who seriously considered attempting suicide also increase by 36%,” Cardine said. “Our last year we treated 355 with suicide ideation.”
Cardine said Shield Bearer identified several items that need more attention, including routine market audits, increased reimbursement rates for patients, matching telehealth reimbursement rates, providing easier access to funding for community nonprofit organizations, prioritizing the mental health of children and families and increasing the number of licensed behavioral health professionals.
Other items he would like to see addressed include the expansion of pediatric mental health care; providing training for marriage, family and parenting skills; and expanding access to support groups.
