How Many Mental Health Professionals Do You Need?

How many mental health professionals do you need to serve a population? This measure – often referred to as panel size – was the focus of a recent reader question. This is also the focus of a recently released Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) analysis of the behavioral health workforce – SAMHSA Predicts 10% To 20% More Mental Health & Addiction Treatment Professionals Needed By 2018).

Although standards exist for primary care physicians (see <a href="http://www.aafp.org/fpm/2007/0400/p44 . . .