Title: Inside America's Psychiatrist Shortage (Special Report)
Headings: Inside America’s Psychiatrist Shortage
Inside America’s Psychiatrist Shortage
An in-depth look at why it’s happening, how bad it is, where it’s worst, and how to find the mental health help you need, despite it
Part 1
The Lack of Psychiatrists: Just One Barrier to Treatment
The Silent Shortage
Mental Health Fall-Out
Finding Help When You Can’t Find a Psychiatrist
Part 2
Can’t Find a Psychiatrist? How About an Advanced Practice Nurse, Physician Assistant or Prescribing Psychologist?
Can They Do What Psychiatrists Can Do?
Is Care Compromised When You Don’t See a Doctor?
Knocking Down Barriers
What Advanced Practice Nurses Can Do for You
What Psychiatric Physician Assistants Can Do for You
What Prescribing Psychologists Can Do for You
Part 3
The Psychiatrist Will See You Now—Virtually
The Health Insurance Gap
How Good Is It?
References:

Content: But “these low rates of acceptance may pose a barrier to access to mental health services,” they add. Mental Health Fall-Out
A shortage of psychiatrists isn’t the only problem faced by people with mental health conditions looking for treatment. For those with severe problems, in-patient programs are shrinking, for one thing. Health insurance may limit who you can see or the amount of help you’ll get, in inconvenient ways. That, plus the shortage, is leading to long wait times, shorter doctor visits for psychiatric issues, longer-running prescriptions for medications with less monitoring, and long wait times as more people end up in hospital emergency rooms when a mental health crisis. And it’s simply difficult getting a good diagnosis and treatment plan, especially for “vulnerable populations such as foster children and older adults,” according to the 2017 National Council for Behavioral Health report “The Psychiatric Shortage: Causes and Solutions.” [ 7]
Finding Help When You Can’t Find a Psychiatrist
It’s not easy, but these steps can help you or a loved one get mental-health help when you need it: Talk to your primary care provider. Your family doctor may be able to refer you to a psychiatrist with whom she has a professional relationship or who she trusts.