Mental health jobs will grow 3 times the rate of all US jobs in the next decade | CNN

CNN
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As the need for mental health care continues to grow across the United States, so will the expected demand for service providers.

Job growth in the mental health field – for psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, counselors, mental health aides and social workers – is expected to be three times that of the average job of the US, according to a CNN analysis of new data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A small group of mental health practitioners — especially mental health counselors, who include substance abuse and behavioral problems counselors — is expected to grow even faster. Job growth is expected to increase by 19%, from approximately 450,000 workers in 2023 to 534,000 in 2033, making it one of the 20 fastest growing occupations. US. These counselors work with people seeking help for problems such as anxiety, addiction and depression.

Marriage and family therapists are other occupations within the mental health field that are expected to show significant growth through 2033, with employment there expected to increase by 16%. And the BLS category “counselors, all other,” a catch-all category that includes occupations such as sexual assault counselors and anger management or grief counselors, is similarly expected to grow by 14% in 2033.

Why and where there may be growth

Two factors may be driving the growing demand for mental health services: Decreased stigma around seeking treatment and increased uncertainty in people’s lives, said Traci Cipriano, a psychologist. of medicine and assistant professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine. He told CNN that political divisiveness, economic uncertainty, gun violence and the climate crisis are factors that are putting particular stress on Americans.

Cipriano said: “All of these things are scary to some extent, but each of us as individuals has very little control over them. Stress itself can be controlled by mental health treatment but if you don’t manage it, it can lead to depression and anxiety.

In the next decade, more Americans are also expected to manage depression without formal treatment. CNN’s analysis of BLS job estimates also found that holistic workers — such as acupuncturists, fitness trainers and massage therapists — are also poised for more than average job growth.

Job growth specifically for massage therapists is projected to increase by approximately 18% by 2033, adding approximately 23,000 jobs annually on average. More than half of consumers cited relaxation or stress relief as the main reason for getting a massage, according to a 2023 survey by the American Massage Therapy Association.

The growing need for mental health workers is another symptom of the shortage amid what many are calling a public health emergency. Nine out of 10 adults say they believe there is a mental health crisis in the United States, and young people in particular report that their health worsens during and after the epidemic. his.

Although more and more adults are seeking treatment in recent years, many who struggle with their mental health still do not receive support.

Another reason could be that nearly 122 million Americans live in areas where there is a shortage of mental health professionals, according to a 2021 analysis by USA Facts. Rural areas are particularly vulnerable, with Wyoming and Utah leading the way for the highest rates of people lacking access to mental health providers.

Cipriano said: “We have a shortage of mental health professionals. “People can’t come in and get the treatment they need, so it makes sense that there will be a need for job growth.”

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects employment estimate data for more than 1,100 occupational groups. These group work groups can represent many professionals. For example, the work group “Therapists, all others” includes artists and musicians but also peripathologists – people who support the visually impaired to move freely. Therefore, some of the occupational groups analyzed by CNN may include professionals not directly related to mental health services, and similarly, other occupational groups that are not targeted. they may include activities related to mental health.

To identify mental health professionals as directly as possible, CNN limited its analysis to the roles of psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, counselors, psychiatric assistants and staff. of the community. We included the following occupational groups (state occupation code in parentheses): Substance abuse, conduct disorder, and mental health counselors (21-1018); counselors, all other (21-1019); marriage and family physicians (21-1013); physicians, all other (29-1129); mental health and substance abuse in public servants (21-1023); clinical and counseling psychologists (19-3033); school psychologists (19-3034); psychologists, all other (19-3039); psychiatrists (29-1223); and mental health assistants (31-1133).

For general workers, CNN included massage therapists (31-9011); fitness trainers and group fitness instructors (39-9031); dietitians and nutritionists (29-1031); acupuncturists (29-1291); and examining or treating health care professionals, all other (29-1299).

Although there are limitations to this analysis due to the broad nature of the BLS occupational groups, its purpose is to examine high-level occupational patterns.