Trends in Adult Outpatient Psychotherapy Use in the United States, 2019-2023

The authors sought to examine how psychotherapy use by U.S. adults changed beyond increases during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A nationally representative sample of U.S. noninstitutionalized, civilian adults (N=147,448) was drawn from the 2019-2023 National Health Interview Survey to describe psychotherapy use trends and compare patients' sociodemographic, insurance, and mental health characteristics between 2019-2020 and 2021-2023.

Between 2019 and 2023, psychotherapy use increased from 9.5% to 13.4%, whereas reports of delaying or not receiving psychotherapy because of cost increased from 5.2% to 6.6%. Among respondents who reported using psychotherapy, no significant differences were found in telehealth use and reports of delaying or not receiving psychotherapy because of cost.

The increase in adult psychotherapy use was sustained after the acute phase of the pandemic. With the increased demand for services, monitoring trends in psychotherapy access is vital.