Symptom severity increasing among patients: Report

Fifty-one percent of psychologists said they are seeing an increase in the severity of symptoms among their patients, according to an American Psychological Association report.

The 2024 Practitioner Pulse Report, published in December, surveyed 853 psychologists over Sept.4-30. The survey asked about patient symptoms, whether the provider was accepting new patients, what insurances were accepted and how providers saw patients.

Here are five things to know:

1. The majority of psychologists said the severity of symptoms among patients is increasing and 44% reported increases in treatment course length. Among early-career psychologists, 64% saw an increase in symptom severity among patients and 58% reported increase in treatment length. 

2. About 53% of psychologists said they did not have openings for new patients, but reported being contacted by an average 8.8 people seeking services each month.

3.One-third of psychologists still report feeling burned out, which disproportionately affected early career professionals. 

4. About 66% of psychologists currently accept some form of insurance, while 34% accept no insurance. 

5. One in 10 psychologists used AI at least monthly for tasks such as note-taking or reducing administrative burden. But 27% said they worried that AI may make some or all of their job duties obsolete in the future.

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