How to Improve Mental Health Access for Healthcare Professionals: Breaking Down Barriers
Let’s face it – improving mental health access for healthcare professionals is crucial, yet many avoid seeking help because they fear licensing questions could jeopardize their careers. The stigma around mental health in medicine creates unnecessary barriers to care. The good news? One person really can make a difference in changing this reality and improving access to mental health support.
How One Doctor’s Story Highlighted the Need to Improve Mental Health Access
When Dr. Lorna Breen, an emergency medicine physician and faculty member at Columbia, died by suicide during the COVID pandemic, she left behind a powerful message. Despite her stellar reputation, she worried that seeking mental health treatment meant risking her medical license, hospital privileges, and leadership position.
What’s heartbreaking? New York, where she was licensed, didn’t even ask about mental health history on licensing applications – but she didn’t know that. This communication gap demonstrates why improving mental health access for healthcare professionals requires both policy changes and better awareness.
“Thousands of healthcare workers have reached out… Lorna is not alone.” – Dr. Stefanie Simmons, Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation
Simple Changes That Improve Mental Health Access for Healthcare Professionals
The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation is transforming the landscape of mental health support by:
- Removing invasive mental health questions from state licensing applications
- Changing hospital credentialing processes to eliminate stigma
- Awarding badges to organizations that implement these access-improving changes
- Providing toolkits for healthcare professionals to advocate within their systems
So far, they’ve recognized 29 states and over 500 hospitals that have made these crucial changes to improve mental health access for their workforce.
What You Can Do Today
Whether you’re a frontline clinician, department leader, or healthcare administrator, you can take meaningful action:
- Check your own applications: Review your hospital’s credentialing or state licensing forms for mental health questions
- Advocate for change: Use the Foundation’s toolkit to approach decision-makers
- Put your oxygen mask on first: Prioritize your wellbeing while working toward systemic change
- Communicate openly: If you’re a leader, normalize mental health conversations and share your own experiences
As Dr. Simmons emphasizes: “It always starts with one person. There’s always somebody who says this needs to change.”
The Impact of Supportive Leadership
One powerful moment from the conversation highlights how transformative supportive leadership can be. Dr. Simmons shared her gratitude for a leader who not only accommodated her flexibility needs but also normalized the experience by sharing their own similar situation.
This kind of response doesn’t just solve a scheduling problem – it creates belonging and inclusion, critical elements for professional wellbeing.
Resources to Improve Mental Health Access in Your Organization
The Lorna Breen Foundation offers valuable resources for improving mental health access for healthcare professionals:
- State-level learning collaboratives through the “All In Caring for Caregivers” program
- Ambassador programs for wellbeing leaders advocating for better mental health access
- Tools for speaking directly to your state board about licensing questions
- Guidance on impactful policy changes that remove barriers to care
Their Impact Well-Being guide provides six practical steps healthcare leaders can implement immediately to improve workforce wellbeing and enhance access to mental health support.
Taking Action to Improve Mental Health Access Today
You became a healthcare professional to make a difference in people’s lives. Don’t let fear of stigma prevent you from getting the support you need to continue doing what matters.
As Dr. Simmons reminds us, while we control less than we might wish, “we have much more influence than we think” – on those around us, on organizational policies, and on the systems we work within. Each of us can contribute to improving mental health access for healthcare professionals through advocacy and personal example.
Ready to make a change? It starts with a single conversation and a commitment to creating a healthcare culture where seeking help is seen as a sign of strength, not weakness. By working together, we can remove barriers and ensure everyone in healthcare has the mental health support they need.
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