#access-to-care

#access-to-care

The US healthcare system's capacity crisis has reached a breaking point in neurology, where 145 million Americans with chronic neurological conditions face average wait times of 4-6 months to see a specialist, if they can find one at all. This shortage isn't just an inconvenience; it's forcing millions to cycle through emergency departments, endure preventable suffering, and watch treatable conditions worsen while they wait.

Kristen Johansson's therapy ended with a single phone call. For five years, she'd trusted the same counselor through her mother's death, a divorce and years of childhood trauma work. But when her therapist stopped taking insurance, Johansson's $30 copay ballooned to $275 a session overnight. Even when her therapist offered a reduced rate, Johansson couldn't afford it. The referrals she was given went nowhere.

I was addicted to alcohol for more than 15 years. What started as binge drinking in high school and college became a pattern of blackouts, emergency room visits, regret and shame.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and Education Secretary Linda McMahon want schools to do away with mental health screenings and therapy. Instead, they argue in a Washington Post opinion piece that schools "must return to the natural sources of mental well-being: strong families, nutrition and fitness, and hope for the future." NPR spoke to mental health experts who say the op-ed is misleading about school-based mental health screenings and therapy.

The evidence from this study can help clinical practices justify and move forward with offering remote pain coping skills training that is based on recommended cognitive behavioral therapy interventions. We hope to see that more people with chronic pain will have access to pain coping skills training in the future, and perhaps a choice of whether they would like to complete it on their own, at home, or by phone or video conference with a health coach,

The vulnerability that exists in human relationships allows for transformative therapy experiences.

The number of dentists employed by the HSE at the end of last year was just 249, illustrating the severe shortage of dental professionals available to provide care.

During lockdown, I was sure psychotherapy would take a hit. How could I possibly help clients through a screen? Selfishly, too, one of a therapist's gratifications is to (literally) sit with people. There was no way two-dimensional therapy could work as effectively as 3D, right? Wrong. And happily, very much wrong.