Skip to page content

Mental Health Treatment

Featured

Effective mental health treatment must be based on a foundation of solid, robust evidence. RAND research on mental health treatment includes extensive work on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) interventions for military personnel as well as young children; cognitive behavioral therapy for depression in clients with alcohol and substance abuse problems; and prevention and early intervention strategies for community mental health.

Essay
Mental Health First Aid: Training People to Help Others
An innovative program trains and empowers people to not look away from those experiencing mental illness, but to listen to them, reassure them, and encourage them to get help. Most trainees of the program in New York City were still using what they had learned five years later.
May 3, 2023
Essay
Therapeutic Use of Psychedelics in Treating PTSD and Depression Among Veterans
Clinical trials have shown that psychedelics can have a positive effect on mental health conditions like PTSD or depression for some people. Enthusiasm for these treatments has grown among veterans and providers who work with military populations. The VA should invest in research and provide guidance on psychedelics.
Nov 8, 2023

Explore Mental Health Treatment

Blog
'Israel's 9/11,' Promoting the 988 Hotline, the Future of Space: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on why the Oct. 7 attack wasn't Israel's 9/11, humanity's future approach to space, the pressing need to ensure more people know about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and more.
Nov 17, 2023
Commentary
Improving Behavioral Health Care in the Military Health System
What can be done to ensure service members have timely and equitable access to high-quality behavioral health care?
Nov 16, 2023
Commentary
How Do We Stop Relying on 911 to Handle Mental Health Crises?
Almost half of Americans are afraid that 911 is not a safe option to call for someone undergoing a behavioral health problem—and with good reason. Broader advertising and outreach about the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is necessary. People simply can't call what they don't know about.
Nov 15, 2023
Journal Article
Telehealth Adoption by Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Facilities in the COVID-19 Pandemic
The study examined temporal and geographic trends in telehealth availability at U.S. behavioral health treatment facilities and risk factors for not offering telehealth.
Nov 13, 2023
Periodical
RAND Review: November-December 2023
Features explore the use of psychedelics to address depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders among veterans, and the prevalence of food insecurity among active-duty military families and veterans.
Nov 9, 2023
Report
The Road to Reintegration: Status and Continuing Support of the U.S. Air Force's Wounded, Ill, and Injured
How do wounded, injured, or ill airmen feel about their medical and nonmedical care and the services provided by the U.S. Air Force? The authors of this report examine the quality of support provided to those who are wounded, ill, or injured.
Nov 1, 2023
Testimony
Improving Treatment Outcomes for Veterans with Mental Health Conditions
Current treatments for veterans experiencing PTSD and other mental health conditions are largely effective but they do not work for everyone. More treatments that yield better outcomes are needed. With sustained research investment and careful planning, psychedelic-assisted therapies hold great promise to improve care for veterans.
Oct 19, 2023
Journal Article
Estimating Psychiatric Bed Shortages in the US
The US is confronting an urgent and worsening shortage of psychiatric beds. RAND researchers identify the challenges in estimating the shortage and recommend a data-driven approach.
Oct 16, 2023
Journal Article
Perspectives on Financing Strategies for Evidence-Based Treatment Implementation in Youth Mental Health Systems
This study collected quantitative and qualitative survey data on how youth mental health system decision-makers viewed financing strategies that support implementation and sustainment of evidence-based treatments.
Oct 13, 2023
Blog
Nuclear Deterrence, Russia and Iran, Deepfakes: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how much is “enough” for U.S. nuclear forces, the budding Russia-Iran partnership, the challenge of detecting deepfakes, and more.
Oct 6, 2023
Journal Article
Utilization and Spending on Mental Health Services Among Children and Youths With Commercial Insurance
In this study, we examined telehealth, in-person, and overall pediatric mental health service utilization and spending rates from January 2019 through August 2022.
Oct 5, 2023
News Release
Mental Health Spending for Children and Adolescents Has Risen by More Than One-Quarter Since Beginning of Pandemic
Spending on mental health services for children and adolescents has risen by more than one-quarter since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing to rise even as the use of telehealth plateaued.
Oct 3, 2023
Report
Virtual Behavioral Health for Army Soldiers: Soldier Perspectives and Patterns of Treatment
The authors examined trends in the use of virtual behavioral health (VBH) care for U.S. Army soldiers and their spouses from prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic through March 2022 and surveyed soldiers about their perceptions of VBH care.
Sep 19, 2023
Report
Using Quality Measures and Measurement-Based Care to Improve Behavioral Health Care for Veterans and Service Members
Using quality measures and measurement-based care can help community-based organizations that provide behavioral health (BH) care to veterans and service members ensure that their BH care is high-quality and effective.
Sep 12, 2023
Blog
The Four-Day School Week, AI and Social Media Manipulation, School Safety: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the costs and benefits of a four-day school week, how artificial intelligence is bringing a new era of social media manipulation, the effects of placing police officers in schools, and more.
Sep 8, 2023
Journal Article
Access Challenges for Patients with Limited English Proficiency: A Secret-Shopper Study of In-Person and Telehealth Behavioral Health Services in California Safety-Net Clinics
The recent growth of telehealth may be impacting access to care for patients, including those with limited English proficiency. Using a secret-shopper design, simulated patients contacted 386 safety-net clinics in California from February-March 2023.
Sep 8, 2023
News Release
Many Patients Don't Get to Choose the Type of Behavioral Health Visit They Receive
With the rapid growth of telehealth for behavioral health services, many patients do not have a choice of whether they receive in-person or remote care.
Sep 5, 2023
Blog
The State of Public Education, the Opioid Crisis, Defending Taiwan: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the state of public education in America right now, a missing piece of the strategy for addressing the opioid crisis, emerging technology that could help defend Taiwan, and more.
Sep 1, 2023
Journal Article
Telehealth and In-Person Mental Health Service Utilization and Spending, 2019 to 2022
During the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth for mental health boomed. Post-pandemic, little is known about mental health service trends. We studied 2019-2022 data on telehealth vs. in-person mental health utilization and spending in US adults pre-2023 PHE expiry.
Aug 28, 2023

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Next

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Lisa H. Jaycox

Senior Behavioral Scientist

Lisa Jaycox is a senior behavioral scientist at RAND and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. She has combined clinical and research expertise in the areas of child and adolescent mental health problems, including depression and reactions to violence exposure such…
Glenn Wagner

Senior Behavioral Scientist

Glenn Wagner is a senior behavioral scientist at RAND and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He has been involved in clinical and behavioral HIV research for more than 25 years and has extensive experience with both HIV prevention and treatment research. For more than 15 years, he…

Explore Our People »