“Everything is bigger in Texas.” That’s a saying that’s endearing to Texans and to anyone who has visited or who is familiar with this enormous and beautiful place. Texas is one of the largest states in the country when it comes to geographic size, population and influence on culture. Conversely, this line also applies to the unfortunate and in some ways desperate state of Texas mental health. As you’ll see below, some recent data reveal that the Lone Star State is dealing with a crisis that needs more attention.

SoCal Empowered is an organization that’s home to several residential mental health treatment facilities. We offer multiple locations in Orange County, California and in Idaho Falls, Idaho. We’ve helped people from all over the United States work on themselves and improve their mental health, and many of them hail from Texas. We’d like to help more people, for as you’ll see below, the data regarding Texas mental health is extremely troubling, and according to some, the worst in the country.

If you or a loved one is suffering with mental illness, the first thing you should understand is that you are very far from alone. An enormous number of people in Texas alone are struggling mightily, so there is no shame in getting the help you or a loved one needs. Instead, you should view such a step as nothing short of courageous. All we ask for now is that you take a look at the information below to obtain a deeper perspective on the scope of this Texas mental health problem.

The Forbes Mental Health Care Rankings

We’re going to begin with some relativity. Forbes Magazine publishes state rankings for quality and accessibility of mental health care every year. In its most recent study, Texas finished dead last in the country for the second consecutive year with regards to care and treatment for mental illness. Based on the metrics Forbes used, Texas finished at the bottom because:

1. It has the second highest percentage of adults with a mental illness who are uninsured (21.4%).
2. Texas has only 8.4 treatment centers in the state per 10,000 businesses, making it the third worst in the United States.
3. 62.3 percent of adults in Texas do not receive treatment for their mental illnesses. Only four states are home to a higher percentage.
4. Of the adults in Texas who do receive mental health treatment, nearly 30 percent are getting treatment that is deemed inadequate.

What this tells us is that if someone is suffering from a mental illness, the current state of Texas mental health is not set up to help them for a variety of reasons. You can find the full breakdown of the states in Forbes here.

The Mental Health America Mental Health Survey

In addition to Forbes, an organization known as Mental Health America, or MHA, publishes annual mental health rankings broken down by state. According to its most recent report, Texas finished slightly better than last, but not by much. MHA uses the following criteria to formulate its rankings:

1.  Adults with Any Mental Illness (AMI)
2.  Adults with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year
3.  Adults with Serious Thoughts of Suicide
4.  Adults with SUD Who Needed But Did Not Receive Treatment
5.  Adults with AMI Who are Uninsured
6.  Adults Reporting 14+ Mentally Unhealthy Days a Month Who Could Not See a Doctor Due to Costs
7.  Adults with AMI with Private Insurance That Did Not Cover Mental or Emotional Problems

Based on these criteria, Texas finished 44^th overall out of 50 states and the District of Columbia. This is mostly due to the overall lack of insurance and the cost barriers associated with mental health treatment. If you’d like to look at this entire report, you can find it here. 

Texas Mental Health Data from NAMI

Finally, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI, puts together raw data regarding mental health and mental illness in every state in the country. These are not rankings, but serve to provide a numerical perspective on just how many people are suffering. Below you’ll find a few startling facts regarding Texas mental health overall:

1. More than 3.3 million adults in Texas suffer from some sort of mental health condition at any given time.
2. Almost 800,000 adults in Texas suffer from what’s known as a serious mental illness, or an illness that interferes with a person’s ability to function in general.
3. More than 750,000 adults in Texas experienced suicidal ideation in the year prior to the publishing of this survey.
4. Nearly 4,000 Texans died by suicide in the year prior to the completion of this survey.
5. 15,072,179 people in Texas live in a community that does not have enough mental health professionals.

You can find this report here.

How SoCal Empowered Can Help

As we said earlier, these are troubling if not shocking numbers and data points. Something needs to be done, and for some, a stay at one of our residential facilities could make a world of difference. We work with several national and regional insurance carriers on an in-network basis, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas.

We also work with several other carriers on an out-of-network basis. You should check your insurance coverage to see what mental health benefits are available. If you’re not sure how to do that, you can always contact us, and we’ll handle it for you.

If you’d like to see more specific data, we drill down into Houston, San Antonio and Dallas locally. What you’ll see is much of the same: People are suffering and they need a resource to help.

It costs nothing to contact us. We will listen to your situation, and if we feel that a stay with us is the best way forward, we will take care of the details, including insurance coverage, for you. If not, we will help you find the best option for your challenges.

Please contact us today. Now is the time to take this on and restore peace and happiness to your life.