In 2023, around 60 million adults in the United States received treatment or counseling for their mental health within the past year. Such treatment included inpatient or outpatient treatment or counseling, or the use of prescription medication. Anxiety and depression are two common reasons for seeking mental health treatment. Who most often receives mental health treatment? In the United States, women are almost twice as likely than men to have received mental health treatment in the past year, with around 21 percent of adult women receiving some form of mental health treatment in the past year, as of 2021. Considering age, those between 18 and 44 years are more likely to receive counseling or therapy than older adults, however older adults are more likely to take medication to treat their mental health issues. Furthermore, mental health treatment in general is far more common among white adults in the U.S. than among other races or ethnicities. In 2020, around 24.4 percent of white adults received some form of mental health treatment in the past year compared to 15.3 percent of black adults and 12.6 percent of Hispanics. Reasons for not receiving mental health treatment Although stigma surrounding mental health treatment has declined over the last few decades and access to such services has greatly improved, many people in the United States who want or need treatment for mental health issues still do not get it. For example, it is estimated that almost half of women with some form of mental illness did not receive any treatment in the past year, as of 2022. Sadly, the most common reason for U.S. adults to not receive mental health treatment is that they thought they could handle the problem without treatment. Other common reasons for not receiving mental health treatment include not knowing where to go for services or could not afford the costs.

In 2024, around 17 percent of men in the United States received mental health treatment or counseling in the past year. The share of men who have received treatment for mental health problems has increased over the past couple decades likely due to a decrease in stigma around seeking such help and increased awareness of mental health issues. However, women in the U.S. are still much more likely to receive mental health treatment than men. Mental illness among men No one is immune to mental illness and the impact of mental health problems can be severe and debilitating. In 2023, it was estimated that 19 percent of men in the United States had some form of mental illness in the past year. Two of the most common mental disorders among men and women alike are anxiety disorders and depression. Depression is more common among men in their late teens and early 20s, with around 15 percent of U.S. men aged 21 to 25 years reporting experiencing a major depressive episode in the past year as of 2022. Depression is a very treatable condition, but those suffering from depression are at a much higher risk of suicide than those who do not have depression. Suicide among men Although women in the United States are more likely to report suffering from mental illness than men, the suicide rate among U.S. men is around 3.7 times higher than that of women. Suicide deaths among men are much more likely to involve the use of firearms, which may explain some of the disparity in suicide deaths between men and women. In 2020, around 58 percent of suicide deaths among men were from firearms compared to just 33 percent of suicide deaths among women. Although more people in the United States are accessing mental health, barriers to treatment persist. In 2022, the thought that they could handle the problem without treatment was the number one reason U.S. adults gave for not receiving the mental health treatment they required.

In 2024, it was estimated that 28.2 percent of U.S. women received mental health treatment or counseling at some time in the past year. This statistic shows the percentage of U.S. women who received mental health treatment or counseling in the past year from 2002 to 2024.

In 2024, some 16.4 percent of Hispanics or Latinos in the U.S. received mental health treatment or counseling in the past year. This statistic represents the percentage of U.S. Hispanic or Latino adults who received mental health treatment in the past year from 2002 to 2024.

A survey from 2024 found that around 16 percent of adults in the United States stated they were currently being treated by or in therapy with a psychologist or other mental health professional. This was an increase from the previous year. This statistic shows the percentage of adults in the United States who had ever received treatment or therapy from a psychologist or other mental health professional from 2023 to 2024.

A survey from the fall of 2024 of over 25,000 college students from 48 schools across the United States found that around ** percent of respondents reported suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Furthermore, around **** percent stated they had autism spectrum disorder. Health conditions among college students Some of the most common health conditions that college students had been diagnosed with in the last year, as of fall 2024, included a cold/virus or other respiratory illness, the flu, and stomach problems. However, the most common health conditions that college students reported they had ever been diagnosed with included anxiety, environmental allergies, acne, and depression. In the fall of 2024, around ** percent of college students reported that at some point in their life they had been diagnosed with anxiety, while ** percent had been diagnosed with depression. Many universities in the United States now promote and offer mental health services, but many college students still do not receive the treatment they require. Mental health treatment According to mental health clinicians, the top concerns for their college student patients are anxiety, depression, and relationship problems. These issues are not uncommon among college students as many are living on their own for the first time in their lives, perhaps far away from home, and are likely dealing with new levels of academic, financial, and social stress. However, although universities are increasingly aware of these issues and a higher number now provide on-campus resources, many students are still not receiving treatment. For example, a survey of over 104,000 college students in 2023-2024 found that around ***percent felt they didn’t know where to go for on-campus professional mental health services. Furthermore, around ** percent of respondents stated that due to financial reasons they received fewer services (counseling, therapy, or medications) in the past year for their mental or emotional health than they would have otherwise received.