Will Having More Mental Healthcare in Colorado Help?

Colorado ranks 43rd out of 50 states for mental healthcare according to the nonprofit advocacy group Mental Health America. At the same time, Colorado has the third-highest rate of residents living with some kind of mental illness in the country. Thus, with the demand for mental health services in Denver outpacing the supply, we found ourselves interviewing candidates to add more capacity to our clinic.

Many of the candidates come to us from large, corporate conglomerates of mental health clinics. Basically, what happens is that a larger company will buy up smaller practices and apply industrialization processes to maximize the profitability of the clinic – and not the wellness of the client. This is great for shareholders and investors, but not great for people.

We tolerate it because we think it's better than being 44 on the list, instead of 43. But it matters. Not just because I want to see people get well, but also because I want to see providers feel as though they made a difference in people’s lives. Most mental health professionals get into the business out of a genuine desire to help. What they find when they go to these corporate-owned practices is that they are expected, as one interviewee stated, to manage complicated mental health conditions in 15-20 minutes, and prescribe medications based on very narrow guidelines determined by an algorithm, again, courtesy of the corporate office.

From experience, I can tell you that there’s more to mental wellness than meds. I got into this business because, despite my medical background and connections, my wife and I weren't comfortable with the care we got when one of our children was being diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety. While she was prescribed the standard litany of meds for the conditions, it was still a struggle. Slowly, because she had a psychiatrist who truly cared, we were able to convince our daughter to try exercise, talk therapy, and vitamins. All of those things in combination made a difference - but it most certainly wasn't in the algorithm.

Our experience isn't unique. Every day, people seek professional help and they get 15 minutes and a prescription. Recently, it was announced that Colorado plans to spend a half-billion dollars on mental health. This is great news for all of us, but don't confuse more mental health support with good mental health support. Mental health isn’t just an algorithm that can be dictated by a computer model. Because people are so unique, practitioners need to take the time to get to know their patients and meet them where they are. That’s difficult when you only get 15-20 minutes per appointment but it's tolerated here in Colorado because we've had far too few resources for mental health for far too long. I hope with more support, our expectations from providers will change and we get the quality mental health care we need and deserve.