Research and analysis

Suicide is a complex, urgent public health problem for Oklahoma. Our newest report uses 10 years’ worth of data from the Oklahoma Violent Death Reporting System, along with readily available state and national data spanning nearly two decades, to answer critical questions about suicide in Oklahoma.

May 1, 2025

With several years of CCBHC experience, Oklahoma should now focus on strengthening implementation practices for the CCBHC model and ensuring services fulfill the model's promise.

April 23, 2025

Our new report outlines where Oklahoma's diversion services must grow to meet demand — and quantifies the economic benefits our state can expect in return.

April 1, 2025

Integrating behavioral health services into primary care settings not only expands treatment capacity in the mental health workforce but also provides an entry point for people who might otherwise struggle to access care.

October 3, 2024

Competency evaluation and restoration services are critical to ensuring a person’s due process rights are protected. As Oklahoma and other states face lawsuits over lengthy waitlists for competency restoration services, it’s important to understand how these processes work in Oklahoma.

August 28, 2024

In this analysis, we propose solutions to ensure Oklahomans with IDD have the same access to mental health treatment as any other patient, including better training of clinicians and improved coordination of services.

July 17, 2024

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities and co-occurring mental health challenges face obstacles that make it difficult to access the behavioral health care they need. In this paper, we examine barriers to care such as stigma, a lack of training among providers, and disconnected community supports.

June 27, 2024

Our research finds that Oklahoma’s PACT teams serve less than half the number of people who would benefit from and be eligible for these services.

January 31, 2024

As the first state to fully transition to the CCBHC model, Oklahoma has been at the forefront of embracing change to better deliver community mental health care to its residents.

December 12, 2023

Policymakers have realistic options for addressing the state's most pressing behavioral health workforce challenges. With roughly $30 million in targeted funding and policy initiatives, Oklahoma can significantly strengthen workforce pipelines to meet the state’s growing need for behavioral health professionals.

November 6, 2023

Among Oklahoma’s non-prescribing behavioral health clinicians, psychologists have the greatest gap between supply and demand, meeting only 37% of the state’s estimated need. Without investments in the pipeline of future psychologists, Oklahoma will continue to struggle meeting residents' needs into the next decade.

October 18, 2023

In this data snapshot, we highlight national prevalence rates of mental health conditions among U.S. college students as well as state rates of alcohol and substance use among college-age Oklahomans.

September 21, 2023

Understanding the licensure process for behavioral health professionals is an important starting point for policy solutions that increase access to care for Oklahomans with mental health and substance use treatment needs.

April 14, 2023

We found that health insurance networks offer poor access to the state’s behavioral health care providers — a barrier to care for more than 2 million Oklahomans with these plans.

February 9, 2023

To better understand the accessibility of Oklahoma's workforce, Healthy Minds conducted a survey of Oklahoma's licensed behavioral health care providers.

December 16, 2022

Targeted interventions anchored within a comprehensive multi-tiered system of supports framework are crucial to the well-being of youth in our state.

November 16, 2022

The co-use of methamphetamine and opioids (including fentanyl) has resulted in a significant increase in overdose deaths involving both substances in Oklahoma.

October 27, 2022

The rollout of 988 in Oklahoma coincides with the launch of a comprehensive crisis response system that includes mobile crisis responders and in-person emergency centers.

August 24, 2022

As Oklahoma’s population ages, the need for effective behavioral health systems and services for older Oklahomans will continue increasing.

July 19, 2022

First responders have experienced rising mental distress, with implications for the future of these professions and safety in Oklahoma.

June 15, 2022

To become a leader in suicide prevention, Oklahoma must ensure widespread screening, early intervention protocols, and provider training in primary and general healthcare settings.

April 29, 2022

In this report, we examine the current state of Oklahoma’s array of promotion, prevention, and early intervention services.

February 22, 2022

This report provides a comprehensive review of veteran suicide in Oklahoma and an assessment of the mental health services and systems available to Oklahoma veterans.

February 3, 2022

Already increasing before 2020, the number of children and youth struggling with poor mental health in Oklahoma has surged during the pandemic.

December 3, 2021

Amid rising need, we examine opportunities and gaps in the treatment system for children's mental health crises.

December 3, 2021

Our Mental Health Talks forum on November 22 offered a comprehensive view of primary care innovations and veteran mental health.

November 22, 2021

In a new report, we analyze COVID-19’s impact on the mental health and wellbeing of Oklahoma’s children.

September 29, 2021

Our report examines behavioral health trends since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

September 2, 2021

Integrated care promises to maximize the behavioral health workforce, while capitalizing on Oklahoma’s abundant supply of primary care doctors.

July 29, 2021

The business community can fuel economic growth by addressing the mental health of Oklahomans and advancing methods proven to support a healthy workforce.

July 29, 2021

Healthy Minds shared this framework for an ideal children's continuum of care at the INTEGRIS Health Partners Summit on June 21, 2021.

June 29, 2021

Our second Mental Health Talks forum on June 25 offered a comprehensive view of school-based mental health services in Oklahoma.

June 25, 2021

In this new report, we summarize the complex evidence about the relationship between mental illness and violence, and make recommendations for programmatic and policy changes where needed.

May 28, 2021

View our quick-reference snapshot of behavioral health in Indian Country here.

May 27, 2021

Key shortages in Oklahoma’s behavioral health workforce represent a crisis Oklahoma cannot afford to ignore.

May 21, 2021

Healthy Minds has released a new report on the relationship between mental health and Oklahoma's workforce.

April 26, 2021

In the fourth installment of Healthy Minds' behavioral health workforce series, we examine the impacts of COVID-19 on the workforce.

April 23, 2021

Healthy Minds has released a comprehensive report on how Oklahoma can address children's mental health in school settings.

March 18, 2021

In the third installment of our research series on Oklahoma's behavioral health workforce, Healthy Minds examines the impacts of Medicaid expansion and commercial managed care on the state's workforce.

February 25, 2021

Healthy Minds explores Oklahoma's greatest mental health workforce needs in the second report of a new policy series.

January 25, 2021

In this four-part series, Healthy Minds examines the state of Oklahoma's behavioral health workforce, action areas for policymakers and a focus on how Medicaid expansion and a shift to Medicaid managed care will change the landscape.

December 15, 2020

Healthy Minds examines Oklahoma's greatest mental health workforce needs in the first report of a new policy series.

December 15, 2020

Children are a vulnerable population during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn: They are directly affected by COVID-19 and the measures taken to prevent and control the spread of this disease.

October 5, 2020

This report illustrates a possible scope of the mental health and substance abuse challenges that will arise in Oklahoma from COVID-19 and the subsequent economic…

April 1, 2020

Despite years of attempts to ensure mental health parity in insurance coverage, Oklahomans still struggle to access substance abuse and mental health treatment.

January 1, 2020