Jeannette therapist Sarah Ludwig is on a mission to improve mental health counselors\u2019 working environment.<\/p>\n
Ludwig, 36, has worked for various private therapy practices in her 12 years as a mental health counselor specializing in sexual violence cases. Though she finds the field rewarding, counselors often are burdened with high case loads and low pay as a result of rising mental health needs nationwide, Ludwig said.<\/p>\n
Ludwig and her business partner Kayla DiPaolo, 30, of Murrysville opened a therapy collective in North Huntingdon last year with the goal of boosting local counselors\u2019 working conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople, especially in our field, are really afraid to do this,\u201d Ludwig said. \u201cThis is why you\u2019re not going to find a lot of these situations. We are trying to empower and get other people to jump on board with doing this themselves \u2014 this therapy collective idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pair purchased last April a 28-sided building with 56 windows for their Mind & Body Collective, located along Clay Pike.<\/p>\n
The business, which opened in July, now houses 14 mental health workers \u2014 including licensed professional counselors, licensed clinical social workers, a doctorate nurse practitioner, a behavior analyst and a speech pathologist. Five of them are trained in EMDR, or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy \u2014 which is designed to help clients who have experienced trauma.<\/p>\n
All of the collective\u2019s office spaces have been filled since October, Ludwig said. And most of its counselors have full caseloads. Across the collective, mental health professionals meet with a combined 200 clients per week, she said.<\/p>\n
Demand for mental health services on rise<\/p>\n
Mental health has taken a national spotlight in recent years.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified a national mental health crisis, particularly among young people, prior to the covid-19 pandemic. But the issue has only worsened in recent years, according to a report released<\/a> by the CDC in June.<\/p>\n About 62 million U.S. adults \u2014 23% of the nation\u2019s adult population \u2014 were identified as having a mental illness in 2024, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration<\/a>. Nearly half of them \u2014 48% \u2014 did not receive treatment.<\/p>\n The behavioral health workforce is limited in addressing those increased needs, particularly in rural areas, according to the Bureau of Health Workforce<\/a>.<\/p>\n As of December, an estimated 137 million people nationwide live in geographic areas where there are not enough mental health professionals to meet the population\u2019s needs, the bureau said.<\/p>\n The bureau expects the shortage of mental health professionals to worsen through the decade. It predicts the nation will be short 45% \u2014 nearly 100,000 \u2014 of the mental health counselors it needs to meet client demands in 2038, according to its online dashboard<\/a>.<\/p>\n Collective aims to lessen burden on counselors<\/p>\n In Ludwig\u2019s experience, the demand for mental health services can lead to overwhelming client loads \u2014 particularly for new therapists.<\/p>\n \u201cYou end up seeing all these people \u2014 doing eight, nine, 10 sessions a day \u2014 and you\u2019re making $20 an hour,\u201d Ludwig said. \u201cThe supervision isn\u2019t great. Everybody quits. It\u2019s just insane. And when you\u2019re doing that and you\u2019re making $39,000 a year, it\u2019s really hard to justify that.\u201d<\/p>\n