More than 157 million Americans live in a federally designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Area, according to Health Resources and Services Administration data as of June 30, 2026. In those areas, the agency counts enough clinicians to meet about 27% of the need.
The gap between rural and urban behavioural health services remains substantial. According to 2025 workforce data from the University of Washington’s WWAMI Rural Health Research Centre, rural counties had approximately 91 counsellors per 100,000 residents, compared with 153 in urban counties. The disparity was wider for psychologists, with roughly 16 per 100,000 rural residents against 43 in urban areas. HRSA has also reported that rural residents are more likely to receive behavioural health care from primary care providers.
Some of the people who could fill those jobs already live in these counties. Many are working adults with jobs and families that make a two-year move to a campus hard to justify. Universities that partner with Risepoint, a global education technology company that works with more than 100 universities, are moving counselling degrees online so those students can train without leaving home.
A Shortage Projected Through 2038
Under its status quo scenario, HRSA expects the country to be short about 99,780 full-time-equivalent mental health counsellors in 2038. Supply would meet only 55% of demand. The projected gap for addiction counsellors is 77,050, and supply would cover just 30% of what’s needed. For psychologists, it’s 48%. Social workers who specialise in mental health and substance use are projected to fall about 17,030 short.
The Bureau of Labour Statistics projects employment of substance abuse, behavioural disorder, and mental health counsellors to grow 18% from 2025 to 2035, with about 50,500 openings a year. A licensed mental health counsellor typically needs a master’s degree, an internship, a passing score on a national exam, and a period of supervised clinical work. For a working adult in a rural county, the master’s degree comes first, and it’s the step an online program can bring closer to home.
Online Counselling Programs
North Park University in Chicago moved its Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counselling online in September 2025, as part of an expanded partnership with Risepoint that also brought its MBA, family nurse practitioner, and educational leadership programs online. “Shifting many of our graduate programs to an online format reflects our vision to meet students where they’re at,” said Provost Michael Carr.
The online counselling degree is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counselling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) and takes about two years. It includes 100 hours of practicum and 600 hours of internship, and the university says it meets licensure requirements in 39 states.
Farther south, the University of West Alabama, based in the small town of Livingston, offers its Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling online with support from Risepoint. The 60-credit program is accredited by CACREP and typically takes two to three years, in eight-week courses. Students complete a practicum and two internships, and the program’s residency is held virtually. Graduate tuition is $429 per credit hour, or about $25,700 for the degree before fees.
At both universities, curriculum, admissions, instruction, and financial aid are owned exclusively by the university. Its own faculty teach the online courses. Support from Risepoint covers technology, initial student outreach, supporting faculty, and retention services. In a Risepoint-commissioned 2026 Ipsos study of 8,565 graduates of Risepoint-supported programs, 89% agreed that their online degree let them keep living and working in their community.
Where the supervised hours happen
The hundreds of hours a counselling or social work student spends with clients, under a licensed supervisor, take place at a clinic, hospital, or agency, ideally one close to where the student lives. “Finding clinical placements is a major constraint on growing healthcare programs,” Phil Hill, an edtech market analyst, wrote in his On EdTech newsletter in August.
A program with students in several states needs signed agreements with sites in each of those communities, plus licensed supervisors willing to take a student on. On Aug. 18, Risepoint acquired Keypath Education’s North American operations, adding that kind of network. Risepoint said the acquisition would help universities grow programs in fields including speech-language pathology, counselling, clinical social work, and pharmacy.
“It is not easy to build relationships with nearly 15,000 sites and more than 28,000 preceptors,” Hill wrote of Keypath, which says it has supported more than 55,000 successful student placements. For a student in a shortage county, a placement network of that size can mean finishing internship hours at a community clinic or local practice near home, the same kind of place that may hire a counsellor once they’re licensed.
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