Mental health issues in minnesota

We are Mental Health Minnesota

Our vision is a world free from stigma that improves mental health and well-being for all.

Mental Health Minnesota is the voice of lived mental health experience. We carry that declaration forward as we work to advance mental health and well-being for all, increase access to mental health treatment and services, and provide education, resources and support across Minnesota.

Mental Health Minnesota was founded in 1939, and has been a trusted source for mental health advocacy, education, resources and support for more than 80 years. We are a non-profit and non-partisan organization, and an affiliate of Mental Health America.

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Key Findings

The state-level facts sheets explore the prevalence of mental illness and substance use and related deaths, and access, affordability, and costs of care. Key findings include:

Mental health symptoms have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. From September 29 – October 11, 2021, 31.6% of adults in the U.S. reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder, up from 11.0% in 2019.

• The states with the highest percentage of adults reporting symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder from September 29 – October 11, 2021 were Alaska (38.5%), Arkansas (37.8%), Oklahoma (37.7%), Rhode Island (37.3%), and Kentucky (36.2%).
• The states with the lowest percentage of adults reporting symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder from September 29 – October 11, 2021 were Wisconsin (22.9%), New Hampshire (23.5%), Minnesota (24.6%), South Dakota (24.7%), and Ohio (26.4%).

Among adults who reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder, 26.9% reported needing, but not receiving, counseling or therapy, from September 29 – October 11, 2021.

• The states with the highest percentage of adults who reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder and had an unmet need for counseling or therapy from September 29 – October 11, 2021 were Kentucky (40.4%), Mississippi (34.7%), Oregon (34.5%), Colorado (33.6%), and Missouri (33.6%).
• The states with the lowest percentage of adults who reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder and had an unmet need for counseling or therapy from September 29 – October 11, 2021 were Wyoming (18.1%), Hawaii (18.6%), Wisconsin (18.8%), New Hampshire (19.4%), and New Jersey (19.5%).

Deaths due to drug overdose increased during the pandemic, primarily driven by synthetic opioid use. In the U.S., in 2020, there were 28.3 deaths due to drug overdose per 100,000, up from 16.6 per 100,000 in 2015.

• States with the highest drug overdose deaths in 2020 were West Virginia (76.3 per 100,000), the District of Columbia (71.7 per 100,000), Kentucky (47.0 per 100,000), Maryland (45.6 per 100,000), and Delaware (45.5 per 100,000).
• States with the lowest drug overdose deaths in 2020 were South Dakota (8.3 per 100,000), Nebraska (10.9 per 100,000), Iowa (13.2 per 100,000), Texas (14.3 per 100,000), and Montana (14.5 per 100,000).

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. and has increased in almost every state over time. In 2019, the age-adjusted suicide rate was 13.9 per 100,000.

• States with the highest suicide rates in 2019 were Wyoming (29.6 per 100,000), Alaska (28.5 per 100,000), Montana (26.2 per 100,000), New Mexico (24.1 per 100,000), and Colorado (22.1 per 100,000).
• States with the lowest suicide rates in 2019 were the District of Columbia (6.1 per 100,000), New Jersey (8.0 per 100,000), New York (8.3 per 100,000), Massachusetts (8.6 per 100,000), and Maryland (10.3 per 100,000).

In 2018-2019, approximately one-third (35.0%) of adults with serious mental illness (SMI) in the past year did not receive mental health treatment.

• The states with the highest percentage of adults with SMI that did not receive mental health treatment were the District of Columbia (47.0%), Georgia (46.6%), Alaska (45.7%), Oklahoma (45.2%), and Texas (44.7%).
• The states with the lowest percentage of adults with SMI that did not receive mental health treatment were Wisconsin (14.4%), North Dakota (19.7%), West Virginia (22.8%), South Dakota (23.9%), and Utah (24.4%).

Across all states, average out-of-pocket spending for adults with mental illness enrolled in large employer health plans is higher than average out-of-pocket spending for adult enrollees without mental illness ($1,347 vs. $671).

• Average out-of-pocket spending for adults with large employer coverage who have a mental illness is highest in Connecticut ($1,753), Wyoming ($1,739), North Dakota ($1,698), Montana ($1,659), and Idaho ($1,617).
• Average out-of-pocket spending for adults with large employer coverage who have a mental illness is lowest in Michigan ($998), Massachusetts ($1,048), California ($1,106), Iowa ($1,106), and Wisconsin ($1,113).

Note: For more state-level data, visit our Mental Health and Substance Use page on KFF’s State Health Facts. Through State Health Facts’ custom state reports, comparisons can be made across select states and indicators.

Mental health and substance use disorders remain a key policy issue at the national and state level, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Build Back Better Act, recently passed in the House, designates funding for several mental health and substance use services, including suicide prevention, strengthening the mental health workforce, peer-support programs for individuals with substance use disorders, and mental health educational programs for school-aged children. Other recent legislation has also allocated funds towards mental health, including the American Rescue Plan Act. The need for mental health care has increased while many states continue to grapple with provider shortages and other issues related to delivery of care. This will likely exacerbate longstanding access to care issues for mental health and substance use treatment services. As policymakers address the many issues that the pandemic and economic crisis have created or highlighted, data will be pivotal to underpin policy action directed at addressing longstanding and developing issues in mental health care.

Far too many struggling teens and young adults in Minnesota are not getting the treatment they need for major depression and other mental health conditions. According to Mental Health America (MHA)’s 2022 report tracking the 50 states and the District of Columbia, nearly 60 percent of young people in the state are receiving no care at all for their mental health issues. These are troubling statistics at a time when nearly a quarter of 11th graders in Minnesota have considered suicide.

The MHA rankings show that 58 percent of Minnesota youth with major depression—translating to 42,000 adolescents—did not have access to mental healthcare in the past year. Furthermore, only one-third of Minnesota teens with major depression received any type of consistent treatment. Statistics for adults, including young adults, are similar, with more than half reporting that they received no treatment for mental illness.

The lack of access to mental health services in Minnesota is a problem that has been acknowledged by many of the state’s mental health experts. Dr. Joshua Stein, president of the Minnesota Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, says that the state faces two specific issues in delivering mental healthcare: difficulty creating “a good prevention model” to help identify individuals’ mental health issues before they reach a crisis point, and a severe shortage of care providers, particularly in rural areas of Minnesota. Stein described the shortfall as “an incredible issue.”

The State of Teen Mental Health in Minnesota and Nearby Chicago

Like adolescents across the nation, Minnesota teens are struggling, as rates of teen mental health problems, suicidal ideation, and vaping show. MHA’s 2021 report found that 70,000 Minnesota teens had at least one major depressive episode in the last year. Furthermore, 12 percent of Minnesota teens experienced severe depressive episodes.

In the Chicago area, the closest major metropolitan area outside of Minnesota, the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey also shows highly troubling data on teen mental health. According to the survey, 17 percent of high school students in Chicago have seriously considered suicide, 13 percent have made a plan to attempt suicide, and 10 percent have actually made an attempt. In addition, 38 percent reported feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for at least two weeks in a row.

Furthermore, nearly one out of every five adults in Minnesota suffers from a mental health condition, according to the MHA rankings, and 7 percent of the state’s adults have a substance use disorder. Many of these individuals are likely young adults, as major depression typically begins in the mid-20s. Moreover, young adults are at higher risk than their older counterparts for anxiety, depression, and suicide.

What Minnesota Students Report About Their Mental Health

Every three years, Minnesota’s 5th-, 8th-, 9th- and 11th-grade students complete the Minnesota Student Survey (MSS), which provides insight that is used by state agencies to identify trends and inform initiatives to improve youth well-being. The most recent survey shows that more Minnesota students than ever are suffering from long-term mental health, behavioral, or emotional problems. The number of students in the state who reported these issues rose from 18 percent in 2016 to 23 percent in 2019, with rates rising in all grades and for both genders.

Students’ reports of suicide ideation increased for all grade levels between 2013 and 2019. A disturbing 24 percent of 11th-grade students in the state—approximately one in every four Minnesota students—reported seriously considering suicide at some point in their lives. Nearly one in 10 students in 11th grade reported attempting suicide. In addition, LGBQ+ students were about three times more likely than their heterosexual peers to report seriously considering suicide, and four times as likely to actually attempt suicide. And the state’s transgender students in the 11th grade are at the highest risk of attempting suicide: They are four times more likely to do so than cisgender 11th-grade students.

In addition, 25 percent of Minnesota 11th-graders reported using an e-cigarette, also known as vaping, in the 30 days prior to the survey—a 54 percent increase from the 2016 survey. And twice as many 8th graders reported using an e-cigarette in the past 30 days, compared to the 2016 MSS.

Outcomes-Driven Care for Adolescents and Young Adults

In the most successful treatment programs for teens and young adults, the clinical model of care addresses the underlying causes of mental health and co-occurring disorders, not just the behavioral symptoms. Working with credentialed behavioral healthcare experts who are passionate about supporting young people, clients begin to heal the trauma and attachment wounds that catalyze anxiety, depression, and maladaptive behaviors like substance abuse, self-harm, and eating disorders.

Research finds that longer-term care (at least 90 days of treatment) is necessary to make lasting positive change. Therefore, the highest-quality programs provide strengths-based academic and life skills programming, so young people continue to progress in school and career development while receiving the mental health treatment they desperately need. Each client has a tailored treatment plan, with clear goals and measurable outcomes, and once they are ready to leave treatment, clinicians work with them to create a comprehensive plan for continuing care after discharge.

An Integrative and Integrated Approach

An approach that is both integrative and integrated typically includes a variety of evidence-based clinical and experiential modalities, including:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
• Family therapy, such as the Attachment-Based Family Therapy model designed to prevent suicide
• Group therapy that helps clients build community and overcome the feelings of isolation caused by anxiety and depression
• Experiential approaches such as fitness activities and art and music therapy
• Mindfulness approaches like yoga and meditation.

Teens and young adults experience a structured schedule that allows them to learn and practice new, healthy approaches to daily living and self-care, and build trusting, supportive relationships with peers and mentors. In addition, they learn skills for building resilience and coping with stress and difficult emotions.

Moreover, the most effective and compassionate treatment programs recognize that the recovery journey centers on building healthy relationships with self, others—including family and loved ones—and one’s larger community. These authentic connections are at the heart of successful treatment, and an essential element of achieving long-term, sustainable healing.