Washington state working to recruit diversity of behavioral health care providers

Washington State’s Health Care Authority is working to open new career pathways to the behavioral health care field as part of its efforts to address mental health and substance use needs in the state.

At a forum hosted by Yakima Valley College, students heard from mental health professionals about different kinds of career opportunities in mental health and substance use disorder.

Teresa Claycamp is the deputy director within the Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery at HCA. She said the pandemic strained the behavioral health care workforce when there were already high levels of need, especially in rural communities.

“We saw a significant increase in the volume of people who just sought services,” she said. “I think it led to more burnout.”

People living in rural communities may also have an increased need for behavioral health support. 

Part of HCA’s efforts to address those needs lie in supporting existing providers, Claycamp said. Another is recruiting the next generation.

“I think it’s kind of a ‘both and’ approach,” she said.

In 2021, Claycamp said, HCA launched the “Start Your Path” campaign to highlight career options in behavioral health care. Part of the campaign focuses on highlighting career options outside of those requiring advanced degrees.

“Our goal really was to educate Washingtonians that there are multiple paths regardless of your education level,” Claycamp said.

At the Yakima event, pamphlets scattered across tables highlighted different jobs. One is peer counseling, which allows people with lived experiences of mental health or substance use disorders to work supporting others with similar experiences. Other career options include work in substance use disorder prevention.

The state has a vital need for behavioral health care providers, Claycamp said, especially in rural communities such as the Yakima Valley.

“Without the staff of behavioral health providers to support the community, we will continue to see folks in an ongoing mental health crisis, which can often have an impact on the broader health system,” she said.

Deniele Fleming is the department chair and an instructor for the Substance Use Disorder Program at Yakima Valley College. 

Fleming said when she started her career in substance use disorder treatment, work in the field was mainly limited to residential care and outpatient services. 

But as the needs for addiction treatment have grown, so too have the kinds of positions. Today, there are apprenticeship programs that allow for field experience while attending college on weekends.

“We’re realizing that we need everyone to work collaboratively to address substance use in our communities,” Fleming said.

HCA also worked with the state Legislature to pass legislation in 2023 that creates new credential opportunities for those with a bachelor’s degree called a behavioral health support specialist. Additionally, the agency worked as the state Medicaid agency to make changes to Medicaid benefits that allow for more services to be provided by a wider workforce.

Offering multiple career pathways, some of which target substance use early on in school and community settings, makes it possible to offer people help before they reach a crisis point, Claycamp said. 

Those community behavioral health providers also need a consistent funding source, Claycamp said.

“It’s best to get upstream and support people early rather than having them wait for them to be in crisis before they can get the help, or be acknowledged, or seen,” she said. “We have to do better.”

Some gaps in behavioral health care access have to do with underrepresented patients’ ability to connect with their provider through things such as shared language or identity, she said.

“Research shows that patients and clients experience better health outcomes when they connect with a provider who has a similar cultural or ethnic background,” she said. “People of color represent less than 20% of the behavioral health workforce. That’s not OK.”

Of the students at Yakima Valley College, which hosted the event, 65% identify as Hispanic, according to the college’s website, and 53% of the county’s population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, according to the Census Bureau.

Claycamp said the campaign aims to increase representation and inclusion within the behavioral health workforce among bilingual and LGBTQ+ people, as well as grow excitement and knowledge of career paths in behavioral health fields.

“What we’re trying to do with this campaign is connect to real professionals that are doing the work, connect to the ‘why,’” she said.