Highlights of the National Mental Health Services Survey, 2010

The National Mental Health Services Survey (N-MHSS) is an annual survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of all known public and private mental health treatment facilities in the United States, the District of Columbia, and other U.S. jurisdictions. In the 2010 N-MHSS, data were collected from: psychiatric hospitals; nonfederal general hospitals with a separate psychiatric unit; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers; outpatient or day treatment or partial hospitalization mental health facilities; residential treatment centers (RTCs) for children; RTCs for adults; and multisetting (nonhospital) mental health facilities. Excluded were Department of Defense military treatment facilities; facilities administered by the Indian Health Service; tribally-operated facilities; private practitioners and small group practices not licensed as mental health clinics or centers; and jails or prisons. In 2010, 10,374 eligible facilities responded to the N-MHSS and reported a 1-day census of 3,186,636 clients enrolled in mental health treatment on April 30, 2010. 67% of facilities surveyed were operated by private nonprofit entities, about 10 percent were operated by private for-profit entities, and the remainder were operated by state, local, or regional/district governments or authorities or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). 61% of facilities were outpatient or day treatment or partial hospitalization facilities, 18% were psychiatric hospitals or psychiatric units within general hospitals, 16% were residential treatment centers, 3 percent were multisetting nonhospital facilities, and slightly more than 2% were facilities operated by the VA. More than 75% accepted Medicaid, client/patient fees, or private insurance. About 61% of facilities offered a sliding-fee scale or treatment at no charge. About 63% and 58% of facilities offered special treatment programs for adults with serious mental illness or individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, respectively. These N-MHSS data can be used to conduct comparative analyses and forecast future resource needs and are used to update the information in the mental health component of SAMHSA's online Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator (http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/), a searchable database of licensed and accredited public and private mental health treatment facilities.