PANEL:

Compounding Deficiencies in Mental Health Services 

This panel will discuss how underfunding and ongoing cuts to already strained mental health services, surging demand in the wake of the pandemic, chronically low reimbursement rates, and a severe shortage of providers — particularly doctoral-level clinicians in Washington State — have created compounding deficiencies that fall disproportionately on rural communities. This panel will examine how these intersecting forces strain the system, who bears the greatest burden, and what meaningful solutions might look like.

For more about the presenters, click on their photos: