Trump's executive orders are exacerbating the country's mental health crisis

The Trump administration is bent on repealing or ignoring just about every law that gets in the way of its drive to remake the federal government.

But the administration can't repeal the law of unintended consequences. And plenty of people outside the executive branch — particularly health care providers, mental health professionals, and social workers — will have to clean up the messes the president's directives are creating.

Consider the human cost of the administration's mass culling of federal workers. Some experts estimate that nearly a half-million federal workers could be laid off within the next two years. That's roughly 20% of the federal workforce. It would represent the largest mass firing in American history.

Certain regions of the country — like the Washington, D.C., area — are especially vulnerable to economic disruption. But there are 35 states with at least one county where close to 5% of civilian employees are federal workers.

By the time the long-term effects of these firings filter through our society, the Trump administration will be long gone.

Researchers have investigated just this kind of mass firing event, like a factory closure where an entire workforce is shown the door at the same time. Nearly all of those fired workers experienced mental health declines. The longer their unemployment lasts, the worse they fared.

Even without serious financial strain — if a spouse, for example, has secure employment — losing a job can be highly detrimental to mental health. Removing a person’s daily routine as well as their sense of purpose and identity can seriously undermine their sense of self.

Our nation is already experiencing a mental health crisis. Suicide rates are rising. The number of deaths by drug overdose has quintupled in the last quarter-century. Some 29 million people are struggling with alcohol use disorder.

Putting hundreds of thousands of federal employees out of work will only make such mental health challenges more prevalent.

Or take the administration's crackdown on undocumented migrants. The president has given immigration authorities permission to enter schools, health care facilities, and houses of worship to arrest people suspected of being undocumented.

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Many migrants have lived in the United States for years and may have nowhere else to go. Others may not be safe if they return to the places they were born. Terror and trauma are already sweeping migrant communities.

This crackdown has the potential to traumatize U.S. citizens, too. Churches, schools and community organizations are preparing for the possibility that federal agents may invade their grounds in search of people suspected of being undocumented.

How are teachers supposed to explain to their students why federal agents are removing their peers from class? Are priests expected to pause their sermons while immigration officials drag congregants from their pews for deportation?

The administration's assault on transgender people will also make our nation's mental health crisis worse. Denying access to gender-affirming care, as the Trump administration aims to do, increases the risk that a person will experience depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. And it's at odds with the recommendations of major medical organizations.

Local public health workers, especially social workers, will be the ones who have to help communities navigate the mental health challenges that the administration's blitz of executive orders has wrought.

Nearly 40% of America’s 750,000 social workers specialize in adult mental health. We are crucial pieces of the nation’s healthcare infrastructure. Many of us have completed advanced training; four in five have a master’s degree, with hundreds of hours of field work as part of the requirement.

Unfortunately, there are not enough social workers to meet the increasing demand for our services. We need to bolster public support for social workers, promote awareness of the valuable services we provide, and amplify recruitment efforts to attract new people to the profession.

That's especially true now that millions of vulnerable Americans have found themselves targets of this administration.