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Confused about how to access mental health services?

UPDATED 2022: the best place to find up-to-date information about mental health care plans is here + if you need help with the process we've provided advice in the depression and anxiety 101 threads or this article.

 

Okay so I've spent maaaaany hours trying to navigate the minefield of mental health funding, and I thought I'd give a quick run down as to how it works (I'll keep it pretty general so I can hopefully help people who are new to this whole thing :))

 

You may still occasionally hear/read about being able to access an extra 6 sessions through Medicare on top of the usual 10 sessions. Unfortunately the 10 + 6 sessions funding scheme under Medicare is gone. It was scrapped at the end of 2012 due to budget cuts 😞 If you're still being bulk-billed or receiving subsidies after 10 sessions, it means either your private health insurance is paying for it, your psych is working pro-bono, they're doing something really shady, or your sessions are being funded under a different scheme.

 

So what are your options?

 

  • You can still get a Mental Health Care Plan which is funded via Medicare. This is what the vast majority of people will receive when they visit a GP/psychiatrist in order to be referred to a psychologist. Currently you get a maximum of 10 sessions per calendar year. You'll firstly get a referral for 6 sessions, then you'll have to go back to your GP for a 'review' to get another 4 sessions. These sessions may be bulk-billed (where you don't have to pay anything) or you may have to pay a small out-of-pocket fee. Check with your psychologist when you make your first appointment. Headspace recently published a great article about how to get a mental health care plan which is well worth a read.

 

  • If you have a diagnosis of an eating disorder, from November 2019 you will be able to access up to 40 sessions per year. The details of this are still being worked out by the government, so in the meantime you will only be eligible for the 10 sessions mentioned above.

 

  • If you/your parents have private health insurance you may be able to get rebates through this (depending on your level of cover). However you CANNOT claim both a Medicare rebate & a private health insurance rebate at the same time. Generally you'll use your 10 sessions under Medicare first, and then any extra sessions will be reimbursed by your health fund. The number of sessions covered, and the amount you'll get back, varies with different policies - so make sure you talk to your health fund to figure out what you're entitled to (if anything).

 

  • The public mental health system is different again and not something I have a lot of experience with (as I've resisted all attempts to throw me into it :P). The main way to access it is after presenting to an emergency department/being hospitalised for a mental health issue. Your GP may also refer you to public mental health services if you have serious and/or chronic symptoms (e.g. psychosis). Appointments through this scheme are often held at a community health centre or outpatient clinics attached to a hospital, and you may have a case manager/case worker who is responsible for coordinating your care. You should not have to pay for these services.

 

That's a basic overview of how funding works. I've tried to keep it as simple and condensed as possible but as you can see it's still a massive essay ðŸ˜› if anything isn't clear or you want more details on stuff I can explain things further 🙂

 

My best advice is to find a GP who you're comfortable with and who has done extra training in mental health (as medicine degrees don't always cover this in detail). It's important to have a healthcare professional who's willing to advocate for you, because unfortunately it can sometimes be really hard to know and to fight for what you're entitled to. Good luck, and know that you're not alone on this journey! 🙂

lokifish
lokifishPosted 13-10-2017 11:36 AM

Comments

 
conleenlyn
conleenlynPosted 22-12-2021 02:04 AM

Thanks for your story and great tips, but I think a lot depends on which insurance company you go to. Maybe you should find a company with a High-deductible Medicare Plan G, and they can pay for your psychotherapy sessions. I've been looking for an excellent company to pay my medical bills for a long time. Many companies have bonuses for people with disabilities, but it still took me a long time to find the right company. I think, in general, it's hard to imagine life without insurance companies when you have a disability because you have to go to the doctor a lot.

 
KimberlyMetcal
KimberlyMetcalPosted 05-10-2020 01:23 AM

I have an eating disorder and it's like since 2019 I could get 40 sessions a year, but I still can't access them...

 
 
TOM-RO
TOM-ROPosted 05-10-2020 09:48 AM
Hi @KimberlyMetcal, it would be frustrating having to wait to access support. Have you got any other supports in the meantime?
 
AMcBrideman
AMcBridemanPosted 03-10-2020 05:20 AM

How can I contact you? 

 
 
xXLexi_Lou122Xx
xXLexi_Lou122XxPosted 03-10-2020 06:57 AM
@AMcBrideman do you mean contacting the ReachOut moderators, or Eden1717?
I only ask this, because we are not allowed to contact other users, as this forum is anonymous.
 
DirtWitch
DirtWitchPosted 18-02-2019 05:48 PM

hey @lokifish! great post; it's really great to find something comprehensive and clear about mental health that's up to date 🙂

 
 
mrmusic
mrmusicPosted 28-02-2019 03:31 PM

Hey everyone, just letting you know that I've edited the first post to include a Headspace article about how to get a mental health care plan which could be helpful! 🙂

 
 
 
Eden1717
Eden1717Posted 03-12-2019 01:34 PM

For anyone who was wondering about public services I have had pretty extensive experience with them and @lokifish  feel free to correct me if I am wrong but mostly public has “community mental heath teams’’ and they are area based so if you get accepted then you are only able to be in the team of your area. You have limited choice with who you see as your case worker (who is likely either a nurse, social worker or psychologist) will be assigned to you and you can ask to change but it has to be within the team so there isn’t always many options. There is also a psychiatrist on the team or possibly 2 or 3 who you can see and the caseworker would coordinate the appointment with the psychiatrist. Also with psychiatrists there will likely be registra psychiatrists who you will see sometimes as well as or instead of the senior psychiatrists. You negotiate how often you seen these people but it can vary and change over time. 

 

In in relation to CAMHS (for people under 18) it is similar only there are less teams and often your parents will be somewhat involved. You still get assigned a case worker and a psychiatrist and it is similar to adult services only maybe a little more involved. 

 

With the community teams they can sometimes come to your house to see you if you can’t go to them and you don’t pay for any of it. But again it is very limited choice and often workers leave and consistency is a big issue. 

 

As for how you access these services you can either be referred by your GP or you can get referred while in hospital but it can take months to get in sometimes up to 6months but depending on the area and your individual circumstances it can be faster. Mostly though the community teams only take severe cases where other services are not appropriate or there is significant concern for safety. 

 

Sometimes community teams are linked in to other other services like groups or supported housing and can help you get access to those but again it depends on the individual. 

 

I have been in 3 different community teams including CAMHS and adult services so if anyone has any questions about public I can try and answer them but the public system is particularly confusing and there is a lot going on so it is really hard to navigate. Of course mods are welcome to chime in if I am saying anything wrong as this is just based on my experience. 

 
Zeldasmile
ZeldasmilePosted 15-05-2018 07:33 PM

@lokfish Thank you so much. I don't feel comfortable enough with facing the fact that I'm depressed to open up about it to anyone but my best friend and online, anonymously. Due to this, I kind of have the mindset that it's my problem and that I'll deal with myself which I know is bad. I've been looking into this lately but haven't really wanted to ask about it because people will get suspicious and think there's something wrong with me. I was looking at the list to see if I qualified and felt relieved when it mentioned the fact that if you've self harmed or attempted suicide then you qualify because I used to self harm but I stopped a while ago and I have suicidal thoughts kind of more than I should, should being not at all. 

 
 
Bree-RO
Bree-ROPosted 15-05-2018 09:37 PM

Hey @Zeldasmile in regards to ongoing suicidal thoughts definitely can be super beneficial to talk to a counsellor ongoing. In the short term you could chat to one of the counsellors at Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800). They work with 14-25 year olds and are really awesome, it's entirely confidential too unless you are at imminent risk of harm to yourself or others. Would you ever consider chatting to one of their counsellors soon?

 
 
 
lokifish
lokifishPosted 18-12-2018 04:19 PM
Just a quick note to say that I've finally gotten around to updating this post!

Mental health funding is constantly changing (which makes it even more confusing to get help! 😕) so I wanted to make sure anyone reading this has access to up to date information 🙂
 
 
Bee
BeePosted 15-05-2018 08:54 PM

Hi @Zeldasmile
I'm sorry to hear you don't feel like you can talk to anyone about this. As @Bree-RO mentioned feel free to start your own thread here 

 

You mentioned that you've been having suicidal thoughts, are you safe?

It's important to reach out for help when you're feeling this way, there is a list of numbers of who you can call here

 
scared01
scared01Posted 14-10-2017 08:53 PM

wow! @lokifish what a great article! i can see youve put in a lot of effort here!

thanks!

 
 
lokifish
lokifishPosted 18-10-2017 01:40 PM

Live in a regional or rural part of Australia?

 

The other day @Ben-RO sent me a link about a new Medicare initiative which allows people living outside metropolitan centres to access psychologists through Telehealth initiatives (where sessions are conducted via Skype calls etc.) It's funded under the same scheme as regular Mental Health Care Plans (the technical name for it is the Better Access Initiative). From 1st November 2017 up to 7 of your 10 sessions can be delivered via teleconference. One of the first 4 sessions needs to occur face-to-face, however, so you can still get to know each other in person and see if they're the right clinician for you. If you're any good at maths you'll know that 7 + 1 only adds up to 8, so I'm assuming that the other two sessions would also occur face-to-face (let me know if you find out otherwise)

 

You can check if you're eligible by entering where you live here. People living in MMM Areas 4-7 are eligible for this scheme 😄 If you're interested in learning more here's an FAQ sheet and some guidelines for clinicians (which you might wanna show to your GP - it's a brand new model so they may not have heard about it just yet :))

 
 
 
drstacey
drstaceyPosted 18-03-2018 09:05 PM

I know this is an old post but I was researching telehealth online and came across your post. Have you done this yet or is this just based on info you got from the .gov.au website? I'm trying to figure out if I should go this route because closest access to me is also more than 100km away.

 
 
 
 
Bee
BeePosted 27-03-2018 04:00 PM
@drstacey I have previously, and currently, use telehealth services to see a psychiatrist.
I might be able to help you with any questions you have 🙂

For me, I go to my local Medical Centre for the telehealth appointments.
They have a normal consulting room set up for the appointments and I talk to the psychiatrist via skype.
I find the telehealth appointments good as I don't have to travel so far to speak to them. It means I can continue my daily routines around my appointment.

I do find though that seeing them via telehealth is different to face to face. In some aspects, it's hard as the internet connection can sometimes be laggy or very staticky. This makes it had, but usually we then resort to the phone so we can hear each other better.
 
 
 
Bee
BeePosted 05-11-2017 10:01 PM
@lokifish makes sense now why I have received so many sessions from my psychologist! I've been under ATAPS!
It's interesting that they are bringing in the telehealth for psychologists too! I see a psychiatrist via telehealth as there isn't any practising in my area (200+kms is the closest!)
 
 
 
 
May_
May_Posted 24-01-2018 02:59 PM
So helpful @lokifish!

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