Trainee psychologists could treat patients suffering pandemic fatigue under a proposal by an industry body to reduce patient waiting times, as the COVID mental health crisis deepens.
Key points:
- An industry body says trainee psychologists should be allowed to provide Medicare-rebated services to cut wait times
- Psychologists say this will boost the psychology workforce by about 6,400 practitioners overnight
- Counsellors and social workers say they can also provide mental health support and their wait times are shorter
The Australian Association of Psychologists (AAPi) said allowing provisional psychologists to provide Medicare-rebated services would ease the burden on the system.
A provisional psychologist is someone who practices under supervision and is in the final stages of becoming a fully registered psychologist.
AAPi executive director Tegan Carrison said urgent action was needed to address the nation’s mental health crisis.
“We also need to mobilise the profession and encourage psychologists working in other areas, or those recently retired, into private practice.
“The client rebate for all psychology services across the board needs to be raised to $150 so that private practices remain viable and the community can afford the support it so desperately needs.”
The current rebate for a registered psychologist is $88.25 compared to a clinical psychologist’s rebate of $129.55.
Triage system for trainees
The wait time to see a psychologist in some parts of south-east Queensland is up to nine months.
Gold Coast-based psychologist Clive Jones said his private practice had a three-month wait list.
He said junior psychologists had completed extensive study and training but they faced a two-year provisional registration process.
“We’ve currently got about 34,000 registered psychologists across Australia and so if you add that 6,400, that would make a significant increase,” he said.
He said a triage system could be introduced to ensure trainee psychologists dealt with less complex cases.
“You just have to make sure that the practitioners are working with the patient base that they are equipped to deal with.
“So that’s really quite important.”
Counsellors and social workers available
Sunshine Coast counsellor Marc de Bruin said he had experienced a 30 per cent increase in demand.
He said wait lists for counselling services were much shorter than those for psychologists.
Mr de Bruin said while counsellors can’t diagnose mental health conditions, they can offer support.
“We could make a major difference to the demand for mental health services, a lot of people just don’t know that we exist.
“We can provide services generally within a week, two weeks or less, sometimes even same day, depending on what’s going on.”
Mr de Bruin said most private insurance companies offered rebates for some counselling services.
“Bupa, Medibank provide rebates to counsellors of a particular level and particular number of years of experience,” Mr de Bruin said.
Mr de Bruin said it was important for people to choose registered counsellors and those who were members of a governing body such as the Australian Counselling Association.
“Look for one with a university degree, or postgraduate degree in counselling or mental health,” he said.
The Australian Association of Social Workers said accredited mental health social workers could also provide support.
Rebates for psychologists to be reviewed
In a statement, the Department of Health said the government was “not currently considering” allowing provisional psychologists to provide Medicare-subsidised services.
But it said Medicare rebates for psychologists would be considered as part of a “comprehensive evaluation” due next year.
It said reducing wait times required an increase in the number of fully trained psychologists and other mental health professionals entering the workforce:
“For this reason, the 2021-22 Budget included $58.8 million to grow and upskill the mental health and suicide prevention workforce.
The Government is also developing a National Mental Health Workforce Strategy with input from an independent task force.
The strategy will provide insights on how to attract, train and retain the workforce required to meet the current and future demands of the mental health system.”
The department said the Psychology Board of Australia was responsible for all matters relating to the registration of psychologists, including developing the registration standards and processes that all psychologists must comply with to practice.
It said it was essential for the safety and wellbeing of the public that these registration standards were maintained.
But CEO of the Australian Psychological Society Dr Zena Burgess said provisional psychologists are under utilised.
“They are highly trained mental health practitioners who work directly under the supervision of an experienced psychologist,” Dr Burgess said.
“For us, and our 27,000 members, wait times and workforce capacity are a pressing issue.”
Dr Burgess said she acknowledged change would take time and said regional Australia shouldn’t be ignored.
“Rural and regional Australians have faced chronic shortages in mental health services, and we need a national workforce plan that attracts, trains, and retains psychologists in these areas,” she said.
“For people in distress now, if you’re facing wait times, book the appointment anyway. Knowing you have one coming up can provide some comfort in the short term.”
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