As demand for greater and more diverse behavioral health care services increases, expansion of occupational scopes of practice (SOPs) has been suggested as one mechanism for enhancing workforce capacity. SOPs that are uniform for a given occupation across states, and complementary across behavioral health occupations, may help ensure that a full range of mental health and substance use disorder services are authorized and easily accessible for patients.

This policy brief explores SOPs for 9 behavioral health occupations, comparing similarities, variations, and gaps in provider authority.