The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) designates a geographic area, population group or facility where access to mental health care providers is substandard as a health professional shortage area (HPSA) for mental health care services. This designation can be based on the size of the HPSA's population relative to either (a) the number of psychiatrists, or (b) the combined number of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, and certain other types of mental health care providers that serve the community. Most mental health care shortage designations are currently based on an HPSA's population relative to the number of psychiatrists serving the community.
As of December 31, 2022, mental health care HPSAs in the six-state New England region accounted for about 1.9% of the U.S. population who lived in mental health care shortage areas, and a corresponding 1.9% of the overall national shortage of mental health care providers. To eliminate the shortage, the HRSA estimates that New England HPSAs would need 151 additional mental health care providers. A further review of HRSA data reveals the following about New England's mental health care shortage:
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New England's Mental Health Care Shortage |
| State | (1) HPSAs | (2) Population | (3) Shortage |
| CT | 44 | 1,542,562 | 84 |
| ME | 70 | 399,337 | 31 |
| MA | 58 | 296,936 | 16 |
| NH | 24 | 182,854 | 5 |
| RI | 14 | 594,428 | 15 |
| VT | 12 | N/A | N/A |
| Region | 222 | 3,016,117 | 151 |
| U.S. | 6,599 | 158,413,168 | 7,957 |
