Mental Health Treatment Among Adults: United States, 2019

"Key findings

Data from the National Health Interview Survey

• In 2019, 19.2% of adults had received any mental health treatment in the past 12 months, including 15.8% who had taken prescription medication for their mental health and 9.5% who received counseling or therapy from a mental health professional.
• Women were more likely than men to have received any mental health treatment.
• Non-Hispanic white adults (23.0%) were more likely than non-Hispanic black (13.6%) and Hispanic (12.9%) adults to have received any mental health treatment.
• Overall, as the level of urbanization decreased, the percentage of adults who had taken medication for their mental health increased, and the percentage who had received counseling or therapy decreased.

In 2018, about 19% of adults experienced any mental illness in the past year, defined as having any mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder in the past year that met criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, or DSM–IV, excluding developmental or substance use disorders (1,2). This report describes the percentage of U.S. adults who have taken prescription medication for their mental health or have received counseling or therapy from a mental health professional in the past 12 months by select characteristics, based on data from the 2019 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Estimates are also presented for any mental health treatment, defined as having taken medication for mental health, received counseling or therapy, or both in the past 12 months..."
Mental health and adults