Defining the Perinatal Mental Health Workforce
Investigating the perinatal mental health workforce across the U.S.
Projects
Year One Research Projects
Recovery Support Specialists Experiences of Burnout and Plans for the Future
A national survey to peer recovery support specialists regarding their experiences of burnout and intentions to remain active members of the behavioral health workforce.
Behavioral Health Screening for Transitional Age Youth
Investigating the extent to which transitional age youth receive behavioral health screenings and the settings in which they are delivered.
Tele-Behavioral Health at Federally Qualified Health Centers—Differences by Provider Type
Examining the use of virtual care to understand who is providing tele-behavioral health services at FQHCs.
Who is the Harm Reduction Workforce?
Filling the knowledge gap on the harm reduction workforce.
Are Behavioral Health Providers Located in Areas of Deprivation?
Analyzing the geographic location of three behavioral health professions across a standardized index of area disadvantage.
Preparing and Retaining the Behavioral Health Workforce in Safety Net Clinics: How Educational Experiences Relate to Work Satisfaction and Retention
Examining how experiences with medically underserved populations during the education of behavioral health professionals affects their satisfaction and retention when subsequently working in safety net settings.
Assessing the Child Mental Health Physician Workforce in a Time of Crisis
Examining demographic and diagnostic differences in treatments for child mental health among provider types and insurance status.
Exploring the Pipeline to Graduate Social Work Education
Understanding the pipeline of diverse Bachelor of Social Work graduates to Master of Social Work programs to assess how student demographics, educational programs, and loan debt burden impact pathways into the profession.
Assessing the Adequacy of Training for Certified Peer Support Specialists (CPSS) Providing Mental Health and Substance Use Services
Assessing the extent to which CPSS training programs prepared the peer workforce and identifying areas of continued training needs.
Year Two Research Projects
Understanding the Continuum of Behavioral Health Professionals Working in Substance Use and Addiction Services in the United States
Identification of how addiction counselors are identified within each state and describing the proportion of states that permit addiction counselors to reimbursed for their services.
Variation in Psychiatric Collaborative Care Management Codes by Populations: Understanding Extent of Use and for Whom
Observing the rate of Psychiatric Collaborative Care Management (CoCM) codes across patient age, gender, diagnosis, and provider type.
Inclusion of Perinatal Services at Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment Facilities in the U.S.
Investigating the inclusion of perinatal service delivery at mental health and substance use treatment facilities in the U.S.
Understanding the School-based Behavioral Health Workforce
A survey of school administrators to understand and describe the workforce providing school-based behavioral health care.
Variation in Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics’ Staffing Approaches
Characterizing staffing approaches used by CCBHC clinics participating in the 2018-2019 demonstration and determining how and whether staffing approaches were correlated with clinic performance.
Educational Pathways to Professional-level Behavioral Health Degree Programs
Identifying educational pathways into graduate-level behavioral health professions and assessing associations between pathways and individual and employment characteristics
What Characteristics of The Work and Jobs of Behavioral Health Providers Predict How Long They Anticipate Remaining in Rural and Urban Safety Net?
Identifying the features of behavioral health clinicians’ work and jobs correlated with how long they anticipate remaining in their safety net practices
Advanced Behavioral Health Training in Geriatric Fellowships
Exploring the distribution of geriatric fellowships by physician specialty and surveying geriatric fellowship program directors
Year Three Research Projects
Describing the Bachelor’s-Level Behavioral Health Workforce Across the U.S.
Investigating and describing bachelor’s-level behavioral health support professionals across the U.S.
Rates of Medicaid Reimbursement for Psychotherapy and the Relationship to Licensed Clinician Behavioral Health Clinician Supply
Identifying trends in reimbursement rates for licensed behavioral health clinicians
A Scoping Review and Expert Interviews to Identify Best Practices to Recruit, Train, and Retain the Behavioral Health Workforce
A scoping review and expert interviews to describe evidence for supervision in training and for retaining the future workforce
Understanding Perinatal Services Delivered in Substance Use and Mental Health Treatment Facilities in the United States
Characterizing services for patients in the perinatal period offered by substance use and mental health treatment facilities
Understanding How the Workforce is Assessing Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders During Pregnancy
Understanding screening practices for perinatal SUD and MHD in the U.S.
How Community Health Centers Partnering with Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers Shifts Workforce Composition in Health Centers
Are community health centers integrated into CCBHCs shifting CHC behavioral health workforce staffing and patient composition?
Differences in Self-Payment Versus Insurance Payment for Psychiatric Services
Measuring the cost of office-based behavioral health visits
Patterns of Telepsychiatry Usage within Episodes of Mental Health Treatment: Implications for Telehealth Policy
Determining the proportion of patient episodes of care for mental health treatment conducted via telehealth, in-person, and hybrid
Year Four Research Projects
Understanding State-Level Variability in Virtual Supervision Regulations for Behavioral Health Professionals
Policy analysis of licensure board regulation to assess allowances for remote supervision
Models to Enhance Practicum Site Development and Clinical Supervision for Behavioral Health Trainees
Identifying strategies to expand behavioral health practicum site opportunities and identify supports and incentivizes for supervisors
Growth of Paid Internships for Behavioral Health Trainees: Current Trends and Workforce Implications
Examining availability and structure of paid internships to identify how to better support behavioral health trainees
Differences in Work and Practice Satisfaction and Anticipated Retention of Behavioral Health Clinicians Working in Integrated versus Non-Integrated Safety Net Practice Settings
Comparing work and practice satisfaction and anticipated retention among behavioral health clinicians working in integrated versus non-integrated safety net settings.
Employment Trends in the U.S. Behavioral Health Workforce through the Lens of Family and Household Characteristics
Assessing trends in behavioral health workforce employment status and how family and household-level characteristics predict employment status
Characterizing Crisis Service Use among the Commercially Insured Population
Characterizing the use of behavioral health crisis services among commercially-insured adults
Assessing Paraprofessional Reimbursement Models Across States
Comparing reimbursement rates and policy consistency for for services delivered by paraprofessional healthcare workers
Comparing Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention Among Providers Employed in CCBHCs and CMHCs
Comparing direct service provider job satisfaction and turnover factors across CCBHCs and CMHCs
Cost of Doing Business for Outpatient Private Practice Behavioral Health
Understanding costs of operating outpatient private practice and the effects of reimbursement rates
Year Five Research Projects
Regulation and Scope of Practice of Certified Prevention Specialists (CPS) and Regulation and Scope of Practice of Licensed and Certified Pastoral Counselors
50-state analysis of credentialing, licensure, and scope of practice for Certified Prevention Specialists and pastoral counselors
Clinical Readiness at Entry: Assessing New Graduate Preparedness and the Role of Structured Onboarding Programs in Behavioral Health Settings
Mixed-methods study of structured onboarding programs in behavioral health agencies to identify effective models to support new graduate readiness and workforce development
The Self-Pay Behavioral Health Workforce in the United States: Motivations, Tradeoffs, and Decisions About Insurance Participation
Qualitative study exploring self-pay behavioral health clinicians' workforce experiences, motivations, and potential reengagement with insurance systems
Supervision Models for Peer Support Workers and Their Relationship to Workforce Sustainability: A Systematic Review
Scoping review of supervision models for peer support workers
Understanding Training Models to Strengthen the Faith-Based Behavioral Health Workforce
Cross-sectional survey study to identify the distribution, structure, and funding of dual-degree programs pairing theological training with social work or counseling degrees
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics and Workforce Capacity for Care Coordination
National survey of care coordination responsibilities among CCBHC providers and their relationship to workforce well-being, staffing, and sustainable service delivery
Behavioral Health Service Delivery in Primary Care: National Trends and State-Level Variations, 2005-2024
Study examining national and state-level trends in behavioral health care delivered by primary care physicians
Family-Responsive Behavioral Health Practice: A Mixed-Method National Study of Workforce Preparation, Practitioner Competencies, and Training Needs
Mixed-methods study examining how graduate education and professional standards prepare social work and counseling students for family-responsive behavioral health practice
From Training to Treatment: Building the Family Medicine MOUD Workforce
Study examining MOUD training, prescribing, and residency program readiness to inform faculty development, rural access, and the future behavioral health workforce