Psychotherapy and Psychiatry Visits in the United States: A Study of MEPS, 2017-2019.

Abstract

Rates of individuals with a psychotherapy visit has not been well studied, and recent reports lack granularity by age. METHODS: The 2017-2019 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) was used to investigate rates and associations of psychotherapy and psychiatry visits by age/sex and antidepressant/antipsychotic use. RESULTS: The study included all 90,853 individuals, of which 5.2% (95% CI, 4.9-5.4) reported any psychotherapy (excluding psychiatry visits) visit during a year, while 3.6% (95% CI, 3.4-3.8) reported a visit with a psychiatrist. Females were more likely to have a psychotherapy visit than males after 15 years of age. The highest rates of females with a psychotherapy visit were between 15 and 30 years of age, while rates among males were highest between 10 to 25 years of age. For psychiatry visits, males had higher rates than females during preteen years, similar rates through teen years, lower rates though adulthood, and similar rates after 60 years of age. Rates of a psychiatry visit did not vary as much by age as a psychotherapy visit. Among antidepressant or antipsychotic medication users, the rate of either a psychotherapy visit or a psychiatry visit during a year was markedly higher at younger ages and decreased as age advanced. CONCLUSION: Psychotherapy and psychiatry utilization have differences in population level patterns with use being highest among females between 15 to 30 years of age and higher among younger (compared with older) individuals who reported antidepressants or antipsychotics.