TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Prudon, Roger
        TI  - (Not) Talking Through Mental Health Problems: How Talk Therapy Impacts Healthcare Utilization, Health and Employment
        PY  - 2026/Jul/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18773
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp18773
        AB  - To increase the uptake of mental health care and reduce the burden of mental health, many countries have introduced programs offering easily accessible talk therapy. Despite their widespread introduction and continued expansion, causal evidence on these programs' effectiveness is lacking. I estimate the impact of a Dutch program that introduced talk therapy provided by nurse practitioners at GP practices nationwide. The reform increased talk therapy uptake by 6 percentage points among individuals seeking care but also widened existing disparities in care utilization. The increased take-up of talk therapy did not significantly improve the health and employment outcomes of patients.
        KW  - mental health care
KW  - talk therapy
KW  - employment
KW  - health care inequalities
        ER  -