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Kansas City's mental health professionals try to tackle a worsening workforce shortage

Stakeholders in Kansas City's behavioral health industry gathered to discuss ways to recruit and retain more people. Among the ideas were artificial intelligence, pay and selfcare.
MentalHealthKC.org
Stakeholders in Kansas City's behavioral health industry gathered this fall to discuss ways to recruit and retain more people.

The country is seeing a shortage of behavioral health care professionals at the same time that demand for mental health care is rising. This fall, Kansas City hosted the Behavioral Health and Leadership Summit to discuss the shortage and how to attract more people to the field.

Mindy Klowden, managing director for behavioral health at Third Horizon Strategies and the keynote speaker of the Behavioral Health and Leadership Summit in Kansas City, said that the behavioral health industry is facing a workforce shortage nationwide, largely due to administrative burnout, compassion fatigue and work-life balance.

"Kansas City is reflective of what's going on around the country, and we really need to be thinking comprehensively about the behavioral health workforce in terms of, how do you get folks interested in going into the field to begin with, how do you make it financially sustainable to have those roles, and then how do you help support the people in those jobs by creating work environments that support their wellness as well," Klowden told KCUR's Up To Date.

This fall, the Behavioral Health and Leadership Summit brought together more than 100 stakeholders from the Kansas City region to discuss ways to recruit and retain more individuals to the profession, including engaging with younger school-aged children to introduce them to the career, and non-traditional paths to certificates and licensure.

The summit plans to reconvene in spring 2024.

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When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
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