Indiana’s Mental Health Care Shortfall Demands Action

Nearly one in four adults in Indiana has a mental illness, and one in four of those adults reports an unmet need for treatment, according to Mental Health America. In Indiana, that means 23.73% of adults are living with mental illness, and 25.20% of adults with mental illness report that they sought treatment or believed they should receive treatment but did not get it.

Those numbers should stop us in our tracks. They represent people going to work while quietly battling depression, anxiety, trauma, bipolar disorder, and other mental health conditions. They represent parents trying to hold things together for their children while privately struggling. They represent families watching someone they love suffer and not knowing where to turn.

As chief medical officer of Indiana Center for Recovery and a psychiatrist who has spent decades treating individuals and families in this state, I have seen both sides of this crisis. I have seen what untreated mental health conditions can cost a person, a family, and a community. I have also seen what happens when people get the right care at the right time: Lives stabilize and families begin to heal.

The problem is not that treatment does not work. The problem is that too many Hoosiers still do not receive it. Mental Health America defines “unmet need” as seeking treatment or thinking treatment is needed but not receiving it. That gap persists for reasons we see every day: stigma, cost, confusion about where to start, delays in reaching out, and the mistaken belief that things have to get worse before someone truly deserves help.

That is why this issue demands more than awareness. Indiana does have treatment resources across the state, and more people are recognizing that mental health care is health care. But availability alone does not guarantee access. A person may know they need help and still put it off because they are overwhelmed, afraid of judgment, unsure what their insurance covers or uncertain whether treatment is financially possible.

Affordability matters, insurance and clear entry points into care matter. At Indiana Center for Recovery, for example, Medicaid is accepted at select locations because cost should not be the reason someone goes without mental health treatment.

Too often, people wait until a crisis forces action. By then, symptoms may be more severe, relationships may be strained, work may be affected, and families may be exhausted. We should not require suffering to reach catastrophic levels before treatment feels within reach.

What Indiana needs now is not just more conversation about mental health. We need fewer barriers between people and the care that already exists. That means normalizing early intervention, so people seek help before they reach a breaking point. Conversations continue to reduce stigma, so asking for care is seen as a sign of strength and not weakness. It means educating people so the path into treatment is easier to understand for individuals and families.

Mental health affects every corner of public life. It affects families, schools, workplaces, physical health, and recovery from substance use disorders. When treatment is delayed, the consequences become more serious and more costly, not just for the individual but also for communities across Indiana.

Indiana’s mental health care shortfall is serious, but it is not inevitable. We can narrow that gap, but only if we make it easier for people to access care before their condition becomes a crisis.

Too many Hoosiers are still falling through the cracks. That is a public health problem Indiana cannot afford to ignore.