Mental Health Month 2021 Week 3

Stephanie Weatherly, DNP, PMH RN-BC, FACHE

Chief Clinical Officer

May 17, 2021

As we enter the third week of Mental Health Month, let’s keep up the momentum! Today I want to share some statistics from Mental Health America’s 2021 The State of Mental Health in America report. They produce this report that includes specific state information that would be helpful to you and your communities, so please download the report to utilize.

Here are some key takeaways:

• Youth mental health is worsening. 
  • 9.7% of youth in the U.S. have severe major depression, compared to 9.2% in last year’s dataset.
  • This rate was highest among youth who identify as more than one race, at 12.4%.
• Even before COVID-19, the prevalence of mental illness among adults was increasing. 
  • In 2017-2018, 19% of adults experienced a mental illness, increasing to 1.5 million people over last year’s dataset.
• Suicidal ideation among adults is increasing. 
  • The percentage of adults in the U.S. who are experiencing serious thoughts of suicide increased 0.15% from 2016-2017 to 2017-2018 – an additional 460,000 people from last year’s dataset.
• There is still an unmet need for mental health treatment among youth and adults. 
  • 60% of youth with major depression did not receive any mental health treatment in 2017-2018.
  • Even in states with the greatest access, over 38% are not receiving the mental health services they need. Among youth with severe depression, only 27.3% received consistent treatment.
  • 23.6% of adults with a mental illness reported an unmet need for treatment in 2017-2018. This number has not declined since 2011.
• The percentage of adults with a mental illness who are uninsured increased for the first time since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 
  • Nationally, 10.8% are uninsured, totaling 5.1 million adults. This figure differs dramatically across states – in New Jersey (ranked #1), 2.5% of adults with AMI are uninsured, compared to 23% in Wyoming (ranked #51).

Thank you for all you do to make a difference in the lives of those we treat!