Understanding the St. Louis Mental Health Workforce: Community Insights and Actionable Solutions

Dr. Courtney Dowdall and Molly Downing will co-facilitate “Understanding the St. Louis Mental Health Workforce: Community Insights and Actionable Solutions” with Dr. Matthew Ellis as part of the Chiron Community Giving Foundation (CCGF) Fourth Annual Community Convening.

The mental health workforce in St. Louis faces significant and growing challenges, including burnout, high turnover, and barriers to sustainable clinical practice. To better understand these challenges, CCGF, in partnership with Civic Insight and the Community Health Commission of Missouri (CHCM), has been actively engaged in mental health workforce research in the St. Louis region. This session will present findings from that ongoing work and invite clinicians to participate in a structured, community-driven interpretation of what the data reveals. The session will be organized in two parts. First, CCGF will present current findings from workforce research, highlighting key patterns in how St. Louis clinicians experience their work, manage professional demands, and navigate systemic barriers. Second, CHCM facilitators will lead an interactive participatory engagement process in which attendees collaboratively interpret the findings, contextualize them within their own professional experiences, and contribute to identifying actionable steps the St. Louis mental health community can take in response. Insights and recommendations generated during this session will inform CCGF’s future research and reporting on its findings. This session is designed for licensed mental health clinicians, those who train, employ, or support clinicians, and stakeholders invested in workforce development and data-driven solutions to the challenges facing the St. Louis mental health community.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe key findings from current mental health workforce research conducted in the St. Louis region.
• Identify systemic and individual-level barriers affecting the sustainability of the mental health workforce in their local community.
• Apply collaborative data interpretation skills by participating in a structured, community-driven discussion to contextualize workforce research findings within one’s professional experience.
• Develop actionable recommendations and strategies that address identified workforce challenges, contributing to a shared set of next steps for the St. Louis mental health community.

Click here to learn more about the convening!