RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – The need for mental health professionals continues to grow in Virginia.
“I think where we feel the shortage the most is when we have children in foster care who need therapeutic services,” said Rose Teague, a social worker at UMFS in Richmond. “It’s intensive home-based counseling, outpatient therapy, and psychological evaluations. All of this requires mental health professionals, and we don’t have enough of them.”
Teague said the children she works with suffer from a variety of traumas. But as she works to get access to a mental health professional, she has to wait more than six months before most clients see a therapist.
“Children who don’t get the services they need often end up with behaviors that continue to escalate,” Teague said.
According to the CDC, Virginia’s mental health crisis is significant. About one-third of Virginians reported experiencing multiple bad mental health days within a two-week period. The entire state is currently considered a mental health professional shortage area.
Deborah Oswalt, executive director of the Virginia Healthcare Foundation, is working to find ways to address these shortages.
The foundation has two programs that help people start their careers. The Psychiatric Nurse Scholarship Program provides full scholarships, Oswalt said, and the Boost 200 program pays for licensure supervision for social workers, counselors, and marriage and family therapists who have completed a master’s degree. It is said that there is
“We really need everyone to work together. Every organization needs to contribute to the solution,” Oswalt said.
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