This week the Australian Minister for Health announced a “shake up” of mental health care policy. At this early stage the details are sketchy, and so far things are not looking good for Medicare, our main system intended for universal access to primary health care. In this short blog post I will share what we […]
Medicare review: Have Your Say
A review of Medicare is underway, giving you an opportunity to have your say about access to psychological care in the system. To make this easy I have assembled some basic points you can use to strengthen your message. Thousands of people support the Alliance for Better Access. Some people are fully behind us whereas […]
Psychological care in distant places? (The NMHC Report: Part 3)
A couple of months ago the National Mental Health Commission released their full report after sections were leaked to the media ahead of the Federal Budget in May. The report makes it clear that hundreds of people wrote in calling for better access to psychological care via the Medicare system. Some of the bigger issues […]
Who should provide psychological care? (The NMHC Report: Part 2)
Since the release of the review of all mental health services in Australia, I have been carefully going through the document to understand the implications for policy change in the Better Access to Mental Health Care program. Under this program people with a mental health condition are eligible to receive psychological care supported through the Medicare […]
How many visits of psychological care? (The NMHC Report: Part 1)
A few weeks ago the long-awaited report from the National Mental Health Commission was released. This expansive report reviewed all mental health care programs across Australia in four volumes and over 700 pages. It is clear from the report that the Commission received hundreds of letters from the public about the Better Access to Mental Health Care […]
Are we spending enough on mental health care?
Last week the review from the National Mental Health Commission (NMHC) was finally released. The report was an important review, covering all mental health care services in Australia. Our Health Minister (actually, two of them) sat on the report, prompting us to make an FOI request to which the Government replied that we must pay a hefty sum […]
Tell the Mental Health Commission we need Better Access!
This is a final call for all Australians to give your feedback to the National Mental Health Commission review of all mental health care services. Please visit the following link to lodge your submission and follow the prompts: https://consultations.health.gov.au/national-mental-health-commission/2014_mh_review
Dr Aaron T Beck: more visits of psychological care are needed
A few weeks ago I was listening to an audio clip from the Beck Institute on the topic of determining treatment length in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). In the talk, the father of cognitive therapy Dr Aaron T. Beck, speaks about how the length of treatment in CBT is difficult to predict when you first […]
Better Mental Health Starts with Policy
Last week, the Australian Doctor reported on new figures released by the Department of Health and Ageing which reveal that the Access to Allied Psychological Services (ATAPS) program had failed meet targets for the delivery of psychological care to the public, despite a $31 million funding boost over the 2013 financial year. Funding to the […]
Green Light for Mental Health
In a statement this morning, the Chair of Australia’s Mental Health Commission Professor, Alan Fels, has criticised both major parties for failing to represent the interests of Australians for better mental health care. He said, “On behalf of the more than 3 million Australians who will experience a mental health difficulty this year, and their […]