According to Ken Esser, executive vice president of behavioral health at Hackensack Meridian Health, “About one in five adults across this country are suffering from some sort of mental health illness. Half get no treatment whatsoever. When you talk about significant mental health issues, two-thirds are getting treatment, leaving one-third going without.”
While stigma prevents many from seeking help, where you live can impact your ability to find care. Urban areas like Northern and Central New Jersey have ample resources, but more rural areas in New Jersey and across the nation struggle. “Access also depends on the level of care that you’re talking about,” says Frank A. Ghinassi, Ph.D., ABPP, senior vice president of behavioral health services at RWJBarnabas Health and president and CEO of Rutgers Health, University Behavioral Health Care.
“Most places in New Jersey have fairly good access to crisis services,” Dr. Ghinassi observes. “However, there’s always room for improvement. There are times when we can move someone in crisis, for example, into an emergency room and into a bed in fairly rapid order. Then there are other occasions when the wait times for a specific kind of bed can be hours or longer.”
As reported in the “State of the Behavioral Health Workforce,” 2024, published by the Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) in the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) in November 2024, more than one-third of the US population lives in Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas. The report reveals that, in 2023, approximately 59 million US adults (23%) had mental illnesses, and nearly half (46%) did not receive treatment. To read the full story.