TEXAS COUNSELING ASSOCIATION
1204 SAN ANTONIO, SUITE 201 ! AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701
PHONE: (512) 472-3403 OR (800) 580-8144 ! FAX: (512) 472-3756
The State of Mental Health Care in Texas
Defining the Mental Health Population in Texas
 Approximately 1 in 5 Texas adults (over 3 million people) has a mental illness. (Morningside






Research and Consulting. (2005). Mayor’s Mental Health Task Force Final Report, Austin,
TX)
Only about one-third of the Texas identified priority population (schizophrenia, bipolar
disorder, or severe clinical depression) is receiving mental health services. (Morningside
Research and Consulting. (2005). Mayor’s Mental Health Task Force Final Report, Austin,
TX)
Texas Department of Mental Health Mental Retardation (TDMHMR) estimates that by 2007,
the priority population in Texas will have increased by 7% to 431,962. (Texas Department of
State Health Services. 2001-2005 Adult Mental Health Prevalence/Priority Population Data)
Approximately 12% of the child population in Texas has been classified as having a mental
illness with only 14.8% of these children being served for their mental illness. (Morningside
Research and Consulting. (2005). Mayor’s Mental Health Task Force Final Report, Austin,
TX)
Approximately 490,000 Texans are disabled due to mental illnesses. (NAMI Texas Report,
1998)
Reports by the Department of Family and Protective Services of Texas indicate that 82% of
the children in custody at that agency under parental relinquishment criteria are there
because parents had no other way to access mental health services. (Mental Health
Association in Texas. (Summer, 2004). The Mental Health Advocate.)
In 2002, the Texas Youth Commission reported that approximately half of its population had
been diagnosed with a serious mental illness. (Texas Youth Commission. Who are TYC
Offenders?)
Costs and Results of Not Offering Mental Health Services
 In 2003, Indigent Care Collaboration reported that while overall hospital emergency room
and clinic encounters did not increase, there was a 43% increase in visits from low income
people with mental health disorders between February and September in the central Texas
area. (Mental Health Association in Texas Newsletter, November, 2003)
 In the Austin area alone, emergency rooms and clinics spent over $1 million in 2003 to care
for low income Texans who need mental health care. Only 12% of this cost was reimbursed
by CHIP and Medicaid. If these same people had gone to the local public mental health
center, the cost would have been 25% less. (Mental Health Association in Texas Newsletter,
November, 2003)
 In Texas, approximately 150,000 adults and adolescents who were former patients in Texas’
public mental health system are now in prison, jail, or on probation or parole. In many cases,
people with mental illness end up in the criminal justice system for minor crimes because
there is no other resource for mental health care. (Mental Health Association in Texas.
(Summer, 2004). The Mental Health Advocate.)
 Ninety percent of suicides carried out are related to untreated or under-treated mental
illness. In 2002, there was an average of 6 deaths per day by suicide in Texas; this is 1.5
times more suicides than homicides. (Morningside Research and Consulting. (2005).
Mayor’s Mental Health Task Force Final Report, Austin, TX)
 In Texas, there was an average of 40 substance-related deaths a day during 2002.
(Morningside Research and Consulting. (2005). Mayor’s Mental Health Task Force Final
Report, Austin, TX)
 In fiscal year 2001, the state of Texas ranked 46th in annual per capita spending ($37.53) on
mental health. (Morningside Research and Consulting. (2005). Mayor’s Mental Health Task
Force Final Report, Austin, TX)
 Medicaid funds paid for half of all state and locally administered mental health services in
2000, up from about one third in 1985. In addition to no longer providing coverage for
services provided by counselors, therapists, psychologists, and social workers, Texas
Medicaid does not cover employment and housing services, peer counseling or drop-in
centers, and other such services needed to provide care for people with severe mental
illnesses. (Morningside Research and Consulting. (2005). Mayor’s Mental Health Task Force
Final Report, Austin, TX)
 People with depression are more than four times as likely to have a heart attack than those
without a history of depression. (NIMH, 1998)
Effectiveness of Offering Counseling Services
 The National Institute of Mental Health has shown that the success rates of treatment for





disorders such as depression (70-80%) and panic disorder (70-90%) surpass success rates
for other medical conditions (heart disease, for example, has a success rate of 45-50%).
(Mental Health Liaison Group. (2002). “Pass Mental Health Parity Now! End Discriminatory
Mental Health Coverage.”)
Research summarizing counseling outcome studies shows that the effects of counseling at
termination are positive and last long term for the majority of clients. Counselors effectively
utilized different treatment modalities for different disorders. (Lambert, M., & CattaniThompson, K. (1996). Current Findings Regarding the Effectiveness of Counseling:
Implications for Practice. Journal of Counseling and Development, 74(6), 601-608)
Counseling services are inexpensive. The Texas Department of Insurance found that a state
law requiring insurers to reimburse for the services of licensed professional counselors
(LPCs) did not significantly increase coverage costs. Claims costs for services provided by
LPCs accounted for less that 1/10 th of 1% of total claims for the insurers surveyed. (Texas
Department of Insurance (1998). Health Insurance Regulation in Texas-The Impact of
Mandated Health Benefits.)
Length of stay in drug treatment is associated with decreases in drug use. Clients who stay
in treatment the longest are more likely to reduce or eliminate their pre-treatment drug use.
This finding is consistent for all drugs except crack cocaine. (SAMHSA. (1998). Services
Research Outcomes Study-Outcomes: Five years After Drug Abuse Treatment.)
Drug treatment has been shown to reduce drug use by 40%-60% and significantly reduces
criminal activity during and after treatment. The reduction in arrest rate due to treatment is
about 40%. (National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2000). Principles of Drug Addiction
Treatment.)
A 1996 federal survey showed that for every dollar spent on substance abuse treatment,
$5.60 is returned in public savings from reduced use of welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, and
reduced crime and imprisonment. (Substance Abuse Treatment is Cost-Effective, federal
survey cited in Mental Health Report, February 5, 1999.)