Why does there seem to such a shortage of mental health professionals in the last couple years? My psychiatrist moved away, and the clinic that I was going to refused to let anyone make anymore appointments. They said that they only had two psychiatrists and one nurse practitioner, so they would review all charts and decide who you were going to be assigned to. I had already seen one of the psychiatrists, and it was not a good fit for me. I knew that the nurse practitioner would not be able to handle my case as even the psychiatrists do not seem to be able to handle my treatment-resistant depression. I called the next largest city nearest me, and they said that they do not know anyone in the area who would take on new patients as there is a shortage of psychiatrists. What is going on?