Whitney Koch Owens, PsyD
Licensed Psychologist
Owner, The Evidence Based Practice of Nevada
The Evidence Based Practice of Nevada was recently recognized by the Henderson Chamber of Commerce for the 2021 “Business on the Rise” award at their Annual Economic Development & Small Business Awards ceremony on December 1, 2021. We were thrilled to be nominated, and honored to receive the award and recognition for our service to the Henderson community. Both Dr. Zimring and I have been a part of the Henderson and Las Vegas communities for over 13 years, and we are passionate about contributing to our community by improving access to evidence-based mental and behavioral health care.
Among mental and behavioral health providers, "business" is often treated like a four-letter word. Most mental and behavioral health professionals chose this career because we are passionate about helping others and making a difference in our communities. We don't enter the field expecting to be entrepreneurs, and we certainly don't enter graduate school expecting to need an MBA. However, Nevada’s mental healthcare system continues to rank 51st in the nation overall, and 51st in youth mental health (Mental Health America, 2021). There have not been, and are not now, nearly enough mental and behavioral healthcare providers in our state to meet the needs of our community. And, for many years, Nevada did not even have the local infrastructure to recruit, hire, and consistently employ licensed mental health providers in public agencies. Many licensed mental and behavioral healthcare providers responded to our community's mental healthcare needs by opening their own practices. Even still, waiting times for mental healthcare are extraordinarily long, and the most economically vulnerable members of our community often cannot access care.
Mental illness impacts business and economic development. The CDC states that poor mental health and stress negatively impact “employee job performance and productivity, engagement with work, communication with coworkers, and physical capability and daily functioning” (2019). In order to have a healthy and productive workforce, we need enough well-trained mental and behavioral healthcare workers to meet the mental and behavioral health needs of our community. According to the 2021 prevalence data by Mental Health America, 1 in 5 Nevadan’s are experiencing some form of mental illness. If you think about 4 of your colleagues in your current workplace, at least one of you is experiencing some form of mental illness. According to the United States Census Bureau, Henderson has experienced a nearly 25% growth in population over the past 10 years, and is growing at a rate of 3.23% according to the World Population Review (2021). If we consider the tremendous growth of our community, along with the lack of access to mental health workers, our mental health situation in our city is dire. The prevalence of mental illness, along with the severe shortage of mental and behavioral health providers underscores the significant importance of workforce development in this sector of healthcare.
Stigma around mental illness appears to be improving, but still creates barriers to people being open about their mental illness (APA, 2019). This may prevent understanding of the prevalence of mental illness both in the community, and in the workplace. Recognizing mental and behavioral healthcare professionals for their work in the community chips away at the sigma surrounding mental illness, and centers the importance of mental health in our community and our businesses.
We sincerely appreciate the recognition of our business and practice by the Henderson Chamber of Commerce. We hope to continue to serve the needs of our community by providing high-quality care and continuing to educate our community on the importance of mental and behavioral health and wellness for everybody.
References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Survey: Americans becoming more open about Mental Health. American Psychological Association. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2019/05/mental-health-survey.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, April 10). Mental health in the Workplace. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/tools-resources/workplace-health/mental-health/index.html.
Henderson, Nevada population 2021. Henderson, Nevada Population 2021 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs). (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/henderson-nv-population.
Prevalence data 2021. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/2021/mental-health-america-prevalence-data. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2019/05/mental-health-survey
The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://www.mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
U.S. Census Bureau quickfacts: Henderson City, Nevada. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/hendersoncitynevada/PST045219.