No single thing is likely to solve the workforce shortage in the behavioral health field. But one program is helping dramatically, and it’s shifting into high gear.
The National Council joined forces with Kaiser Permanente in 2023 to develop the Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Career Accelerator as a way of helping people overcome barriers preventing them from becoming licensed clinicians.
In just a short time, the Accelerator has become one of the most significant programs available to give people with a master’s degree in mental health the support and financial assistance necessary to complete their journey to becoming a licensed mental health professional.
The Accelerator is a massive effort. We’re in eight states. We work with dozens of employers and learning institutions, and we make direct financial incentive payments available to each candidate to defray costs associated with the licensure process. Already, the Accelerator has helped 160 people on their pathway to licensure. And that’s just the beginning.
Since January, we’ve been making changes to improve and expand the Accelerator. They include establishing direct financial support for clinicians, a brand-new training and technical assistance curriculum, and a redesigned participant platform. One of our goals is to ensure that those who enroll in the program have all the support they need to succeed once they obtain their license.
We’re continuing to refine the program because the only thing greater than need for clinicians is the demand for mental health treatment. Did you know 137 million people lived in areas last year where there was a shortage of mental health professionals? That was up 12% from 122 million in 2024, according to Health Resources and Services Administration data. So, we hope to extend the Accelerator’s reach as we strive for an audacious new goal — helping 1,000 people on their journey to licensure by 2028.
It’s long been known that achieving licensure is extremely difficult for many, and those obstacles have dissuaded many people from completing all the steps necessary to become licensed. Motivo Health found that more than half (54%) of master’s-level therapists and social workers never make it to licensure.
The high debt that students incur obtaining a master’s degree in social work or mental health therapy — coupled with the low pay they receive when they enter the field — represents the primary reason graduates don’t take exams to receive a license to practice. They can’t afford it, and that needs to change.
“Across the country, demand for mental health care keeps growing, and yet too many communities do not have enough licensed clinicians to meet that need,” Bechara Choucair, MD, executive vice president and chief health officer at Kaiser Permanente. “Many talented graduates want to do this work, but the path to licensure can be long and difficult. Partnerships like this one with the National Council help remove those barriers, so more people can enter the field and communities can get the care they need.”
Helping more people achieve licensure will allow them to continue their professional journey. It will also give more people in more communities access to the treatment and care they need.
Mental wellbeing is the foundation for a strong, healthy and fulfilling life. We believe mental wellbeing is achievable for everyone — including individuals living with or recovering from a mental health or substance use challenge. But the workforce shortage has made it increasingly difficult for people to find treatment.
The Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Career Accelerator represents one of the National Council’s most important initiatives to mitigate the workforce shortage in the behavioral health field.
But we need to expand this initiative beyond the markets we’re in now. That’s why we are adapting the program for three states in our CCBHC Transformation project – Illinois, Kansas and Michigan. If you’re interested in supporting efforts to bring this initiative to another state, reach out to me or to the team that directs the Accelerator by using the form on our website.
We will begin accepting applications for the next Accelerator cohort on May 4. If you are an early career mental health clinician who’d like to participate, fill out this interest form to get a reminder when the application opens.
Join the Interest ListLicensure: Insights from the Mental Health Career Accelerator (Monday, April 27) and Voices From the Field: A Candidate’s Journey to Licensure in the Accelerator Program (Tuesday, April 28). For more details, check out the Workforce and Talent Development sessions listed in our NatCon program (“Browse by Track”).
You can follow the work of our Center for Workforce Solutions and sign up to receive their newsletters. Check out this interesting story about the Accelerator that Kaiser Permanente has posted.
Growing the behavioral health workforce is important. I want to hear what you have to say, so please leave a comment below. Like, share and repost this column so others can learn about this effort to address the workforce shortage.
