In 2006, there were 10.5 million adults aged 18
or older (4.8 percent) who reported an unmet need for treatment or
counseling for mental health problems in the past year. This included 4.8
million adults who did not receive mental health treatment and 5.6 million
adults who did receive some type of treatment or counseling for a mental
health problem in the past year. That is, about 20 percent of the 23.8
million adults that received treatment for a mental health problem in the
past 12 months reported an unmet need. (Unmet need among adults who received
treatment may reflect a delay in treatment or a perception of insufficient
treatment.) (section on mental
health treatment received and unmet need)
Among the 4.8 million adults who reported an unmet
need for treatment or counseling for mental health problems and did not
receive treatment in the past year, several barriers to treatment were reported.
These included an inability to afford treatment (41.5 percent), believing
at the time that the problem could be handled without treatment (34.0 percent),
not having the time to go for treatment (17.1 percent), and not knowing
where to go for services (16.0 percent) (Figure 8.7).
SAMHSA, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal
Government's lead agency for improving the quality and availability of
substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health
services in the United States.