Researchers at the University of Houston's HEALTH Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention have mapped the city of Houston's mental health care deserts for the first time.
Key Takeaways
- University of Houston researchers have mapped Houston's "mental health deserts," revealing that low-income and minority neighborhoods have the fewest licensed mental health professionals.
- Nearly half of the city of Houston's ZIP codes are classified as "distressed," and 39 have no mental health providers at all, highlighting inequities in access to care.
- UH researchers are partnering with local officials to develop policy solutions that expand mental health services in underserved areas.
For the first time, University of Houston researchers have mapped Houston's "mental health deserts," revealing inequities in access to care across the city.
The study, published Oct. 15 in Frontiers of Public Health, highlights the uneven distribution of mental health professionals and calls for targeted interventions and policy solutions. The research was conducted at UH's HEALTH Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention.
The idea stemmed from lead author Damien Kelly, former community educator at the HEALTH Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention, who noticed that residents in minority communities were increasingly open to mental health care - but had few options nearby.
"So many neighborhoods had no mental health professionals in their ZIP codes," said Chakema Carmack, senior author and associate professor in the Department of Psychological, Health, and Learning Sciences in UH's College of Education. "It does follow patterns of other lack-of-access variables out there, such as food access, physical care access, clinic access and insurance coverage."
Mapping the Gaps
To create the map, the team combined the U.S. Census Bureau's Distressed Community Index (DCI) with Psychology Today's registry of 395 licensed mental health professionals in the city of Houston. The DCI rates ZIP codes as "distressed," "at-risk," "mid-tier," "comfortable" or "prosperous" based on unemployment, poverty, education, job growth and other factors.
Through their research of 96 ZIP codes that fall at least partially within the city of Houston's boundary, the team found:
- "Distressed" ZIP codes averaged only 1.9 mental health professionals, compared to 11 in "prosperous" areas.
- 39 of 96 ZIP codes had no licensed mental health professionals, including the neighborhoods of Kashmere Gardens, Fifth Ward and Sunnyside.
- Nearly 43% of ZIP codes, 42 total, are considered "distressed."
"Your mental clarity is a part of your physical health," Carmack said. "You can live a better life, a more productive life. The quality of your life is so much better when you are mentally healthy."
Next Steps
Identifying mental health deserts is only the beginning. UH researchers have partnered with Harris County Precinct 4 to identify community barriers to care and develop policy solutions in the most affected neighborhoods. A follow-up report is expected in spring 2026.
Potential policy recommendations include:
- Incentives or stipends for professionals to practice in underserved areas
- Programs to promote mental health awareness and normalize help-seeking
- Insurance reforms to cover travel for care or telehealth services
"If you build it, they will come," Carmack said. "But we need to build that mental health care into the system, and that can only be done through policy changes."
