As designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a mental health HPSA (health professional shortage area) is a population group, facility, or geographic unit where the availability of basic mental health care services is substandard. This designation is a reflection of there not being enough mental health care practitioners serving the HPSA community relative to its population size.  As of March 31, 2025, the HRSA reported that nearly 122.4 million Americans were living in designated mental health care shortfall areas.  That national total included more than 36.4 million residents of the twelve-state Southeast who were living in mental health care shortfall areas.  According to HRSA estimates, HPSAs in the Southeast would need 1,987 additional mental health care practitioners servicing these communities in order to eliminate the mental healthcare shortfall in the region.  A deeper look into 3/31/25 HRSA data reveals the following details about the mental health care shortfall in the Southeast:

The Mental Health Care Shortfall in the Southeast

State	(1) HPSAs	(2) Population	(3) Shortfall
AL	64	2,943,245	128
AR	90	1,163,274	69
FL	219	7,830,810	452
GA	90	5,025,398	180
KY	179	2,414,709	131
LA	171	3,210,059	160
MS	84	2,132,264	90
NC	191	3,512,069	217
SC	73	2,081,830	99
TN	83	2,987,186	243
VA	99	2,385,548	129
WV	115	766,433	89
Region	1,458	36,452,825	1,987
U.S.	6,418	122,383,988	6,202

(1) HRSA-designated Geographic Units, Population Groups, and Facilities with a mental health care shortfall

(2) Population of designated HPSAs

(3) Mental Health Care practitioners needed to remove HPSA Designation

Source:  Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary, March 31, 2025 (HRSA)