Houston's behavioral health sector saw 71 providers registered in the latest CMS NPI update, representing 1% of the national weekly total. This week alone, 39 new providers were added, contributing to a total of 42 new registrations in Houston this year. The local landscape comprises 51 individual practitioners and 20 organizations, indicating a mix of independent and group practices.
Credential Mix and Supervision Capacity
Within the ABA-specific credentials, Houston registered 6 Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) and 9 Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs). There were no providers holding both BCBA and RBT credentials simultaneously. This ratio of 1.5 RBTs per BCBA is notably lower than the typical industry standard of 3-5 RBTs per BCBA, which may suggest a higher supervision load for BCBAs or that a significant portion of the RBT workforce in Houston is not captured by NPI registrations. Beyond ABA, the data also shows 8 Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) and 3 Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs), reflecting a broader behavioral health presence.
Workforce Demographics
Among individual practitioners, the workforce is predominantly female, with 39 female providers accounting for 76% of the total. Male providers number 10, making up 20%, while 2 nonbinary providers represent 4%. No organizations appeared multiple times in this week's data, suggesting a diverse and fragmented organizational landscape rather than dominance by a few large entities.
The current data suggests a growing but potentially imbalanced ABA workforce in Houston, with a relatively low RBT-to-BCBA ratio that could impact service delivery capacity or points to a unique local workforce structure not fully reflected in NPI data.
