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3 A report published by the Boston Globe on December 4, 2002, found “Growing numbers of adults and children in Massachusetts are visiting mental health professionals, and are spending far longer in therapy...Americans generally are seeking more therapy, but this trend has turned out to be particularly pronounced in Massachusetts.” Harvard Pilgrim Health Care said the number of talk therapy visits among its members increased 22 percent in 2001, and will grow another 17 percent in 1002. This trend intensified our concern. The project was planned during the spring and summer of 2002 and carried out during the fall. Committee members interviewed solo practitioners face to face and one on one and gathered information and interviewed two or more members of the four principal service providing agencies in the town. 2. MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE PROVIDERS IN LEXINGTON AND THE SAMPLE We pooled information from several sources, including HelpPro.com on the Internet, to develop a master list of professional service providers based in Lexington. The total number of private practitioners is 173. These include therapists who have an office in Lexington, even though their primary office is located elsewhere, as well as professional providers on the staffs of RePlace, Eliot Community Health Services, the Edinburg Center Inc. (formerly the Center for Mental Health and Retardation Services Inc.), and the Lexington High School Guidance Department. The Massachusetts Board of Registration informed us of how many licensed therapists - 36 psychiatrists, 179 psychologists, 425 social workers, and 86 allied mental health professionals - list their addresses in Lexington. Many of these individuals reside in Lexington but practice elsewhere. And many people are licensed but do not practice privately. Committee member William Blout, who has expertise in this domain, estimates