In an effort to provide greater access to mental health care, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandated that most health insurance plans, including all plans offered through the Health Insurance Marketplace, cover mental health and substance use disorder services.  Now, all preventative services, like depression screening and alcohol misuse for adults and behavioral assessments for children, are covered by most plans at no additional cost.

“A major objective of the ACA is more emphasis on preventative care, and with more access to mental health, those with related disorders and substance abuse issues will have more opportunities for a healthier future,” notes Steffanie Ngo-Hatchie, an Executive Recruiter within The Execu|Search Group’s Physician Recruitment division.  “Over the past year, this coverage is something that many Americans have taken advantage of, which in turn, has led many of our clients to rev up their hiring of behavioral health professionals to ensure they can meet this demand for care.  As a result, we’re seeing a lot of great opportunities become available that didn’t really exist 3-4 years ago, and now, while the demand for candidates is so strong, is the time to take advantage of it.”

From physicians to nurses to social workers, there is a strong demand for behavioral health practitioners across the board for both clinical and non-clinical roles.  According to Amanda Bleakney, Senior Managing Director of our Health Services division, these opportunities are no longer only found in in-patient facilities.  “All types of organizations are making a push to provide full-service care and incorporate mental health into their diagnostic, treatment, and referral plans,” she says.  “These opportunities are especially prevalent at community health centers in urban areas, and to attract candidates, compensation is becoming increasingly competitive with other types of facilities.”

In addition, nurses with a background in behavioral health and social workers can expect to find a lot of opportunities at both hospitals and managed care organizations.  Due in part to the transition away from a fee-for-service healthcare model towards an outcome-based care plan, these types of facilities need nurses and social workers to act in a case management capacity to ensure their psychiatric patient populations are connected with the community resources and follow-up care they need to live healthier lives.  Paraprofessionals can also find themselves in high demand by schools that need them to work with students who possess a range of emotional or developmental issues.

For psychiatrists, there is also a lot of opportunity to move into leadership roles.  “In the past, there were significantly less openings for supervisory positions, which made it a lot more difficult for physicians without previous leadership experience to make the transition,” notes Steffanie.  “However, this relatively recent emphasis on mental healthcare has led our clients to create new administrative/executive positions.  In fact, about one third of our psychiatry positions today – both academic and clinical – are at the leadership level and our clients are very open to candidates without extensive leadership experience.”  In addition to now being an excellent time for psychiatrists to pursue the leadership role they always wanted, there are also many part-time opportunities in the New York City Tri-State area, particularly in settings that work with underserved patient populations.  According to Steffanie, this allows physicians to keep their clinical skills sharp and see patients, while having the ability to pursue other career interests such as an academic role.

“There are more opportunities for behavioral health professionals than ever before,” says Steffanie.  “If you have been contemplating a move, now is not the time to hesitate.   It’s a very candidate-driven market where employers are constantly creating new positions to meet the demand for care and are becoming increasingly competitive with each other to attract top talent.  Take advantage of it!”