Colorado is short thousands of mental health workers. A nonprofit is working to close the gap.

Colorado needs thousands more mental health workers, and one nonprofit is trying to close that gap.

The state is short an estimated 4,400 mental health providers. And the ripple effects are felt across the system. Many community mental health centers can only meet half the demand from patients seeking care.

Rachel King manages workforce development at Spark the Change Colorado.

"A lack of providers makes something that's hard to do even harder," said King. "So finding a therapist is not something that's easy. It's not something that we're taught how to do."

Part of the problem starts before clinicians ever see a patient. After graduate school, social workers and counselors must complete at least two more years of supervised clinical hours before they can get fully licensed, 96 hours of supervision in all. And that supervision comes at a cost of about $150 per hour.

"Over the course of 96 hours, you're looking at about $15,000," said King.

Spark the Change is trying to bring that number down dramatically. 

"It's a big financial burden," King said. "And so at Spark, we offer supervision at $50 an hour. So really trying to break down a financial barrier that keeps people from doing the work."

Because when people can't do the work, patients pay the price, King says. "Without people doing the work, you're looking at very long wait lists, especially for folks on Medicaid. You're looking at a lack of diversity of providers."

Pamela Darby is one of those providers working toward full licensure. She's a social worker completing her clinical hours through the Spark program.

She says her patients are often facing some of the hardest moments of their lives.

"A lot of our families, a lot of our patients, are going through something that is really one of the hardest things you can ever go through in this life," said Darby.

Darby says finding affordable supervision on her own wasn't easy, "When I was out looking for private supervision, I realized that's going to be a bit difficult for me to budget in. And so thankfully, Spark came along."

Through the program, she was matched with a clinical supervisor she says has been a strong fit, someone who helps her work through difficult cases and guards against burnout.

"He's really big about burnout, about preventing burnout and fatigue, it can happen just in the job itself," said Darby.

For Darby, the work is more than a career, "This is a calling. And we hope to keep people in the field and grow this field as well."

King says the goal is building a broader, more connected community of mental health providers, so patients can find not just any therapist, but the right one.

"Everyone deserves to have some mental health support, and having licensed providers that can give that to community is definitely the challenge that we're trying to rise to," added King.

To learn more visit: Spark the Change Colorado Supervision & Workforce Development Initiative.

The work to build the mental health workforce is supported by Denver taxpayers through a grant to Spark the Change Colorado, from Caring for Denver.