OFFICE OF RURAL HEALTH AND PRIMARY CARE Minnesota s Marriage & Family Therapist (MFT) Workforce, 2015 HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2015 MFT WORKFORCE SURVEY i Overall According to the Board of Marriage and Family Therapy, as of April 2016, there were 2,004 actively licensed marriage and family therapists (MFTs). ii Marriage and Family Therapists are designated by the national Health Resources and Service Administration as one of the core mental health professions. iii Demographics Sex. Overall, 78.1 percent of Minnesota MFTs are female. The data show that the field has become increasingly female as new professionals have entered the field. The oldest cohort of licensees (those age 65 and over) are only about 65 percent female, while the youngest cohort (those 34 and younger) are more than 86 percent female. Age. The largest share of MFTs are between ages 35 and 44, and the median age of these professionals is 46. Unlike several other mental health professions (notably psychology), the field of marriage and family therapy in Minnesota has more young professionals as it does older ones. This suggests that younger MFTs are entering the field in large enough numbers to offset the losses from retirements. Age of Minnesota MFTs 65 and older 13% 55 to 64 45 to 54 21% 20% 35 to 44 28% 34 and younger 17% Source: Minnesota Board of Marriage and Family Therapy, April 2016. Analysis done by MDH. Percentages are based on 2,000 Minnesota MFTs who provided valid birth dates to the Board. Minnesota MFT Factsheet, Published August 2016 Page 1
Race. Typical of racial patterns among most health care professionals in Minnesota, the majority (93.6 percent) of MFTs indicated that they were white. The second most common race for MFTs was Asian. Race of Minnesota MFTs White/Caucasian 93.6% Asian Black or African American Hispanic/Latino American Indian or Alaskan Native Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander Other 2.9% 2.0% 1.4% 1.7% 0.1% 1.9% Source: MDH MFT Workforce Questionnaire, 2015. Respondents could select as many races as applicable. Education Level. A master s degree is required for licensure as an MFT in Minnesota. The vast majority of MFTs 75 percent earned a master s degree, with another 18 percent earning a postmaster s graduate certificate, and five percent earning a doctorate degree. Education Level of Minnesota MFTs 7% 18% Doctorate or professional degree Master's degree 75% Post-master's graduate certificate Source: MDH Psychologist Workforce Questionnaire, 2016. The chart is based on 1,880 survey responses. Minnesota s MFT Workforce, Published August 2016 2
Employment Share of MFTs Employed. An estimated 90.3 percent of Minnesota licensed marriage and family therapists reported on the MDH questionnaire that they were employed or self-employed in a paid position as a marriage and family therapist. Of the small number of those not working as an MFT, most indicated that they were not seeking work as an MFT. Hours Worked. For MFTs, the median work week was 40 hours (nearly one-third of all MFTs reported working a 40-hour work week). MFTs most commonly reported working between 31 and 40 hours per week, with 35 percent working fewer hours and 21 percent working more. Hours Worked in a Typical Week 44% 8% 12% 15% 18% 3% 10 or less 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 Source: MDH MFT Workforce Questionnaire, 2015. The chart is based on 1,863 valid survey responses. Future Plans. The vast majority of MFTs reported that they planned to practice in Minnesota for more than 10 years. This likely reflects the relatively large share of young MFTs, as shown above. How long do you plan to continue practicing as an MFT in Minnesota? 5 years or less 12% 6 to 10 years 19% More than 10 years 70% Source: MDH MFT Workforce Questionnaire, 2015. The chart is based on 1,691 responses. Minnesota s MFT Workforce, Published August 2016 3
Work Setting. The questionnaire asked MFTs to identify their primary work setting. The most commonly reported setting was an individual private practice (26.6 percent), followed by a mental health agency (26.5 percent) and a group private practice (17.5 percent). Settings that were commonly reported under other included managed care, correctional facilities and insurance companies. MFTs Work Setting Share of MFTs Working in Setting this Setting Individual Private Practice 26.6% Mental Health Agency 26.5% Group Private Practice 17.5% Outpatient Medical Practice 4.6% Schools 4.6% Hospital Inpatient 3.1% Social Service Agency 2.6% Group Home Residential Facility 1.4% Homes 1.4% Religious Institution 0.5% Other 11.1% Source: MDH MFT Workforce Questionnaire, 2015. The chart is based on 1,665 survey responses. Geographic Distribution To get a sense of the accessibility of MFT services around the state, the next two charts provide two different views of the geographic distribution of MFTs. These analyses are based on geocoded addresses that are supplied to the Board of Marriage and Family Therapy at the time of license renewal. iv Distribution by Region. The first chart shows the distribution of MFTs across the six planning areas around Minnesota. As shown, the vast majority are practicing in the Twin Cities metro area, with another 11 percent in central Minnesota. The remaining regions are home to significantly smaller shares of MFTs. (For reference, the Twin Cities metro area houses approximately 54 percent of the state s population, with all other regions housing between 7 and 13 percent of Minnesotans.) Although MFTs are not the only professionals providing mental health services, their heavy concentration in the Twin Cities region exemplifies the well-known maldistribution of mental health providers around the state. Indeed, MFTs are even more heavily concentrated in the Twin Cities than other mental health professionals. This is perhaps not surprising in light of the fact that, within the past several years, roughly 90 percent of all masters-prepared Marriage and Family Therapy program graduates were educated in the Twin Cities area at either Argosy University or the Twin Cities campus of Saint Mary s University of Minnesota. Minnesota s MFT Workforce, Published August 2016 4
MFTs by Minnesota Region Northeast Minnesota Northwest Minnesota Southeast Minnesota Southwest Minnesota 3% 4% 4% 4% Central Minnesota 11% Minneapolis-Saint Paul 75% Source: Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) geocoding and analysis of April, 2015 Minnesota Board of Marriage and Family Therapy address data. Percentages above are based on 1,878 valid Minnesota addresses. Distribution across urban and rural areas. The chart below provides another view of the geographic distribution of MFTs, showing the size of the population for every one MFT in urban, micropolitan, small town, and rural areas. As shown, there are just over 2,300 Minnesotans for every one MFT in urban areas, compared to over 15,000 in the most rural areas of the state. This pattern is typical of other healthcare professions, reflecting the relative inaccessibility of care in sparsely populated areas of the state. These numbers should not be interpreted as case load sizes. Rather, we might say that if the demand for MFT services is constant across all areas, rural Minnesotans share a single MFT with roughly seven times the number of people than urban Minnesotans do. This could affect accessibility of services by increasing appointment wait times and driving distances, for example. Minnesota Population-to-MFT Ratio Urban 2,331 Micropolitan or Large Rural 5,018 Small Town or Small Rural 5,746 Rural or Isolated 15,613 Source: Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) geocoding and analysis of April, 2015 Minnesota Board of Marriage and Family Therapy address data. Percentages above are based on 1,878 valid Minnesota addresses. Minnesota s MFT Workforce, Published August 2016 5
Visit our website at http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/orhpc/workforce/data.html to learn about the Minnesota healthcare workforce. County-level data for this profession is available at http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/orhpc/workforce/database/. Minnesota Department of Health Office of Rural Health and Primary Care 85 East 7 th Place, Suite 220 Saint Paul, MN 55117 (651) 201-3838 health.orhpc@state.mn.us i The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), in cooperation with the Minnesota Board of Marriage and Family Therapy, collected information on demographics, education, career and future plans of MFTs during a workforce questionnaire in 2015. Unless noted, all data are based on information collected from that survey. The response rate for the 2015 MFT survey was 94.6 percent. ii Of the total 2,004 actively licensed MFTs, 126 listed a practice address outside of Minnesota and 1 did not provide a practice address. Additionally, based on survey responses, just under 10 percent of the total licensees are not currently practicing as an MFT. Thus, not all actively licensed MFTs are part of the Minnesota MFT workforce. iii This group includes psychiatry, psychology, counseling, social work, and psychiatric nursing. iv Addresses are generally practice locations, but a small number of MFTs who are not working report home addresses. Additionally, approximately 6.3 percent reported an out-of-state address to the Board; these professionals may or may not be providing services in Minnesota, but in any case, they could not be geocoded. Minnesota s MFT Workforce, Published August 2016 6