It’s not difficult to notice that there is a mental health crisis in our country (and in many parts of the world.) Mental health is a critical aspect of anyone’s personal well being, and so it’s no surprise that the demand for services will increase as the problem increases as well.
In this article, I will walk you through why there will be a huge influx of demand for mental health services, how you can incorporate these services into your business, and how you should effectively market these services.
The Demand for Mental Health Treatment
I’m not going to spend too much time talking about the reasons for the mental health crisis. At this point, we can all speculate as to why. But the data is clear.
The Garrett County center for behavioral health action group wrote an extremally detailed report that measured the need for crisis services through a focus group. The huge spike in demand is very noticeable.
Click here to read the raw data. The screenshot below is directly from garretthealth.org.
So we know there is an increase in the mental health problem, but what does that mean for your business? Is there also a demand for the service? Are people actively seeking help and is there an opportunity for you to serve more people?
Yes.
Over the past 5 years, the search volume for the phrase “mental health treatment” has doubled.
Adding Mental Health Services into Your Business Model
Before I go any further, it’s important to understand that I am not a treatment consultant, and that if you decide to add new services to your business, your first step should be to get the proper licensing and speak with your counsel. Basically, this is not legal advice.
With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s take a look at what might come next.
Getting the Right Licenses
- every state has different requirements
- some states allow you to treat substance abuse disorder and mental health services under a general “behavioral health” license
- other states require you to have one license for substance abuse treatment and another license for mental health services
Proper Billing
- the billing requirements are similair to addiction treatment
- mental health services require different billing codes
- most of the billing can all be done through the same software or through a third party billing company
Adding these services to your existing business is not the same as creating a new facility from scratch. Although it is certainly advantageous to have a standalone facility specifically for mental health, there is opportunity to simply add these services on top of your existing substance abuse services and be able to serve those with co-occurring issues.
How to Market Your Facility for Mental Health Services
You’re not the only person thinking about adding mental health treatment to your list of services.
There is a limited window of time and in my estimation, that opening will be anywhere from 5 – 10 years. For now, the keyword competition for mental health treatment is much lower than for addiction treatment. Moreover, the cost per click on mental health treatment keywords is MUCH MUCH lower than the cost per click on addiction treatment keywords.
This is raw data, as it is not including location or any kind of keyword filters. Regardless, we can get a basic understanding.
Below is the raw keyword cost per click for “addiction treatment.” Sem Rush has it at about $20 per click (which seems very low to me, doesn’t it?)
And here is the raw data for “mental health treatment.” SEM Rush has the average cost per click at around $6 per click.
From both an SEO standpoint, and an advertising standpoint, the cost per acquisition for a mental health client is significantly lower than what it would be for an addiction treatment client.
When I look at these numbers, I see MASSIVE opportunity. There is an opening to build a business that helps people in need and suits a ever expanding demand.
It’s an option worth considering.
