Healing A Broken Mental Health System: Dr Jodi Petersen Of Petersen Research Consultants On 5 Things That Can Be Done To Fix Our Broken Mental Health System
An Interview With Stephanie Greer
Investment in providers: Many mental health care positions require graduate school education but pay wages that are around the US median (average therapist salary in $56,453) and unsustainable given the workload, secondary trauma, and costs of continuing education. As 75% of therapists are women and 72% are White, pay equity and education accessibility will be essential to diversification of the workforce, and a more diverse workforce will aid in making mental health care more accessible to all.
The current state of the mental health system is a conversation that echoes in the halls of policy-making, the corners of social advocacy, and within the private struggles of individuals and families. As we continue to witness an unprecedented need for robust mental health support, the shortcomings of the existing system become more glaring. It is within this backdrop that we seek the insight of those who are at the forefront of behavioral health. In this interview series, we are talking to behavioral health leaders, policymakers, mental health practitioners, advocates, and reformers to share their perspectives on healing our broken mental health system. As a part of this interview series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Jodi Petersen.
Dr. Jodi Petersen is a community psychologist who specializes in helping human service organizations use data to achieve greater impact. Dr. Petersen is an expert in understanding trauma, risk factors for engaging in crime, and treatment for those involved in the criminal justice system. She focuses on systems-level interventions to improve community wellbeing.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your background and your childhood backstory?
I’m from the West side of Michigan and have always had a passion to help people involved in the criminal justice system or those who are dealing with the negative implications of systems that aren’t set up for us to thrive. I’ve always been pulled toward recognizing injustice and working to repair it on a systems level so it cannot continue. That passion led me to the field of community psychology. I own a small consulting business where I work with nonprofits and government agencies in human services. I love helping organizations that already do great work double down on that impact by aligning programming, measuring outcomes, and sharing the story of that impact so even more people can benefit.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite “life lesson quote” has been attributed to several people, including Albert Einstein, and goes “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.” I love this quote because I truly believe that every person has unique gifts, talents, and value that they add to the world, regardless of their belief system, their life circumstances, or their past or current behavior. Every person is valid as a part of their humanity, regardless of their ability on arbitrarily chosen metrics. Every person deserves to feel valued and experience success that is aligned with their unique talents or perspective.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. It is often said that “the mental health system in America is broken”. What does that statement mean to you? From your perspective what is “broken” today?
The mental health system in America is “broken” because, collectively, we have failed to recognize the importance of mental health, failed to appropriately invest in the care system, stigmatized utilizing the mental health system (creating another barrier to access), and then allowed capitalism to make functioning well in the system nearly impossible due to exorbitant costs, referral and insurance authorization barriers, and overloaded existing financial obligations for most of the population.
Mental health wellbeing and care needs to be universally accessible and have levels of intervention, just like physical health care should be. It’s a mistake to think of our own mental health as being unimportant until there’s a problem, just like we wouldn’t recommend neglecting annual “well child” doctor’s appointments for children and physicals for adults in exchange for only going to the doctor when a limb fell off. We need a new paradigm for mental health — more of a public health approach. If we consider what factors need to be present in life for stable mental health in the general population, those things need to be offered at a “Tier 1” or primary prevention level, similar to vaccines or fluoride in the water. For example, if we know that it’s extremely difficult to maintain o01ne’s mental health without adequate hydration or sleep, therefore we should invest in making sure clean drinking water is always accessible, that work and life expectations allow for at least eight hours of sleep per night, etc. By proactively alleviating some of the day-to-day preventable stressors that negatively impact mental health, the huge burden of care on the system can be reduced, allowing the mental health care system to focus more on Tier 2 and 3 interventions, for those who have greater mental health care needs including medications, more in depth therapies, etc.
What about any bright spots? Do you think there are any elements that we get right in today’s world that we wouldn’t want to reverse unintentionally?
I think it’s a huge bright spot that the stigma around discussing mental health and seeking mental health support is decreasing. I see a lot greater levels of comfort in discussing our mental wellbeing, being compassionate with the mental wellbeing of friends, etc than in previous generations. It’s a move in the right direction. If we aren’t talking about mental health, both as a general concept and as it applies to us personally, then it’s unlikely the system will improve on its own. We need collective awareness.
In your opinion, what are the 5 most impactful things that could help heal the broken mental health system? These could be on any level including training, workforce, policy, culture, equity etc.
1 . Universal accessibility: Mental health care, similar to physical health care, is a necessity for everyone, not just those with insurance or individual wealth. As such, mental health care needs to be universally accessible through an expanded public health model, offering interventions at different tiers. This could include Tier 1 interventions (available to everyone as part of “normal” US life) as mandated preventive services, like free mental health system navigation hotlines and websites, easily accessible in person and virtual mental health “triage” centers to aid with entry into the system and allow someone to talk to a provider the same day, policies that protect mental health status or ability care appointments from employment repercussions, etc. Tier 2 interventions could then accessible for those who have a mental health need such as weekly counseling being a mandatorily covered benefit of insurance, set counseling session insurance reimbursement and total case rates, rate control on common psychiatric medications, etc. Tier 3 interventions would be for those most in need of immediate services or who have chronic or severe mental health concerns, such as persistent depression, schizophrenia, etc and could include accessible (meaning beds are available, as there are often none available currently) inpatient hospitalization treatment, programs for medication stabilization, affordable and timely assessment, etc.
The key in this approach is the idea that everyone does need some level of mental health care as a baseline, will likely need additional care/support at some point during their life, and that care needs to be logistically accessible (in terms of physical building location, online access, transportation barriers, etc) and financially accessible (through insurance coverage/mandated prevention services coverage, no cost public offerings, etc).
2 . Increased awareness & destigmatization: Though there have been major improvements in recent years, our wellbeing and our mental health system would still greatly benefit from increased awareness and destigmatization. It’s estimated that at least 40% of men have never spoken to anyone about their mental health (Priory, 2023). We need to encourage people to be more self-reflective about their mental health, talk about it with people they trust, and know that it is acceptable to need and ask for help. This can be done through awareness campaigns on television and social media, increased awareness and education through primary care doctors, early childcare providers, and schools, incentivizing employers to normalize mental health discussions and care tasks at work, etc. While more people being aware of their mental health needs and being willing to seek help would continue to stress an overstretched system, it’s also a prerequisite for improving the mental wellbeing of Americans overall.
3 . Investment in providers: Many mental health care positions require graduate school education but pay wages that are around the US median (average therapist salary in $56,453) and unsustainable given the workload, secondary trauma, and costs of continuing education. As 75% of therapists are women and 72% are White, pay equity and education accessibility will be essential to diversification of the workforce, and a more diverse workforce will aid in making mental health care more accessible to all.
4 . Integration in job & life: As stigma decreases and care access increases, integrating mental health into work and life will be essential in creating a care system that supports the holistic wellbeing of all people. This may mean making it more acceptable to cancel plans or call into work sick due to a depressive episode, without any fear of ramifications to one’s personal or occupational status. I think a lot of workers in the US are hesitant to acknowledge mental health needs in the workplace due to concerns that it may be perceived negatively by peers or supervisors, inaccurately negatively impacting others’ views about their abilities and value as a worker. Additionally, if workplaces shifted to view employees’ holistic wellbeing as an essential component of the business’s functioning, this would translate into the need for workplace policies like paid parental leave, flexibility to leave work for appointments, etc.
5 . Integration in holistic health paradigm: Lastly, in order to improve the mental health system in the US, I think mental health and physical health care need to be integrated into a larger holistic health paradigm. It is unsustainable and frustrating for patients to see a primary care physician for general wellbeing, be referred to specialists who manage specific physical health ailments, separate psychiatrists for mental health medication management, and therapists for counseling. The current physical health system in the US rarely allows for good coordination of care between providers, with one “quarterback” who is helping making decisions based on holistic wellbeing. If the US could shift to this model (and include mental health as part of that holistic wellbeing), it could reduce confusion for patients, decrease duplication of tests, increase efficiency of diagnoses and care, and assist in improved fidelity to care management plans.
If all of the items on your list were magically implemented tomorrow what change might we see in the world? What are the signs (big and small) that would show us that the system is being healed?
If this were all implemented tomorrow, we’d all access the mental health care we need when we need it, without major time lags or insurance preauthorization, with providers who are well trained and supported, without stigma or fear for repercussions, without concerns of affordability, and with impactful results that are not divorced from other areas of our holistic wellbeing. This would hugely impact the day to day wellbeing of Americans, making us better able to show up as our “best selves” in parenting, in our jobs, and in our interactions in community. We’d see that the system is healed when ratings of day to day wellbeing increase, use of police and emergency rooms for mental health crisis stabilization decrease, crime rates decrease, and there is an increase in community cohesion.
What is a project you or others are working on today that gives you hope? How can our readers learn more about this work?
I’m working with a collaborative of state employees and other service providers to make state systems more trauma responsive. The idea is that the systems we need to engage with should give us positive results without causing new trauma or exacerbating or reaggravating prior trauma. People can connect with me and learn more about this work on my website, www.petersenresearchconsultants.com.
How do you see technology shaping the future of mental health care and its accessibility?
With the availability of online scheduling and virtual appointments, technology has helped increase the accessibility of mental health care. I think some apps that are designed to increase awareness of mental health or provide education and help implement good habits are also great areas of progress!
In your view, how do social factors like poverty, education, and culture affect mental health care and its effectiveness?
Social factors like poverty and education impact everything, including mental health care. Existing in environments that are not intended for us to thrive has an inherent impact on mental health. The day to day stressors of living in poverty and facing concerns like housing instability or food insecurity are base-level factors. If we look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it explains that these base-level factors need to be established before higher levels like educational or career pursuits and self-fulfillment can be achieved. Cultural norms like institutional racism similarly contribute to a higher daily stress level, leaving fewer resources for individuals to engage in education, career, or self-fulfillment pursuits. Mental health care will forever need to exist to mitigate the inequitable impact of poverty, education, and cultural norms until those systems and norms can shift to a base expectation of supporting holistic wellbeing.
In light of the growing mental health crisis among young people, what innovative approaches or interventions have proven most successful for children and adolescents?
Increased education and awareness have been most successful for children and adolescents, as these are the gateway for all other related services. As more early childhood programming discusses emotions, wellbeing, and mental health these concepts become more normalized. Further, accessibility has increased through post-COVID (through American Rescue Plan Act) funds increasing the availability of school counselors, school social workers, and additional social-emotional education curricula.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them. 🙂
I’d love to discuss these concepts with prominent healthcare, mental health, education, criminal justice, and policy thinkers like Dr Nadine Burke Harris, Dr Brene Brown, Dr Abdul El-Sayed, Dr Miguel Cardona, and Dr. Vivek Murthy.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Follow me on social media at: https://www.facebook.com/petersenresearchconsultants
Follow me on linked in at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodipetersen/
And check out my website at: www.petersenresearchconsultants.com
Thank you for your time and thoughtful answers. I know many people will gain so much from hearing this.
About The Interviewer: Stephanie Greer, PhD is the Co-founder and CEO of Akin Mental Health — a company dedicated to guiding families on their journey supporting a loved one with mental health challenges like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and severe depression. Stephanie is passionate about this topic from her own personal experience growing up with a mother who struggled with bipolar 1 disorder and found a path forward to overcome the obstacles and live well. Stephanie’s professional experience includes a doctorate in neuroscience as well as design research roles at Hopelab and Apple. Stephanie brings this personal passion together with her world-class science and technology background to support families across the US in their personal journeys supporting loved ones with mental illness. To learn more about Akin Mental Health and join our community, visit us at akinmh.com.
Healing A Broken Mental Health System: Dr Jodi Petersen Of Petersen Research Consultants On 5… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.