Almost Half of Americans Still Want In-Person Mental-Health Support

Key findings:

• Overall mental-health score of -3.7 compared to the pre-pandemic benchmark, more than a two-point improvement from the previous month (-5.8 in October).
• The mentalhealth score of managers (-4.8) continues to be worse than non-managers (-2.9) since the start of the pandemic.

While the acceptance of digital and video mental-health support is high, almost half of working Americans have a preference for in-person mental-health support:

• Thirty-nine percent of Americans report in-person support with a counselor as their preferred modality for mental-health support and another nine percent prefer a combination of in-person and digital support.
• Twenty-six percent of Americans have no preference for the modality (digital, video or in-person) of mental-health support.

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Comments from president and chief executive officer, Stephen Liptrap

“We know that digital and video mentalhealth support is highly effective and enables more people to access counseling. We also know that it was essential during the height of pandemic throughout lockdowns. In spite of that, it is also clear that having a choice is essential. With almost half of working Amercians preferring in-person support, providing the option is important to fully engaging people.”

Working Americans cite concerns about accessibility, confidentiality and cost as barriers to leveraging employer-funded mental-health services:

• Nine percent of Americans indicate that they are not leveraging employer-funded mental-health services because they are unclear on how to access support. This group has a mental-health score of -10.8, more than six points below the national average.
• Eight percent of individuals indicate concerns about confidentiality as their reasoning for not leveraging employer-funded mental-health services. This group has a mental-health score of -16.3, more than 12 points below the national average.
• Eight percent of individuals indicate concerns about cost as their reasoning for not leveraging employer-funded mental-health@ services. This group has a mental-health score of -17.5, nearly 14 points below the national average.

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Comments from global leader and senior vice president, research and total wellbeing, Paula Allen

“We know that the need for mentalhealth support is strong. We also know not everyone who currently needs support is accessing it, even when it is available. From our data, those in greatest need for mental-health@ support have the greatest need for education regarding the accessibility and confidentialtiy of employer services, and the fact that employee assistance programs are a cost to the user. When people are under stress, repetition of information is even more important so that it is top of mind when mental-health support is needed.”

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