Australia’s Mental Healthcare System Is Struggling – And So Are We

Imagine news broke that 62 percent of patients in our waiting rooms today are suffering from a deadly strain of flu. They’re dropping like flies. What would happen?

Public service announcements, easier access to vaccines, government interventions, four step responses on how to care for someone with that flu.

Now, consider that 62 percent of Aussie patients are not in the waiting room with flu, but with psychological health concerns.

I’m not just talking about feeling a little down, either. According to research, more people are depressed, anxious and medicated than at any other time in Australian history. Numbers of adults and children who are suffering psychological distress are dramatically up, even in the last ten years.

Despite the high profile of organisations like Headspace, the number of young people being admitted to the emergency department with mental disorders has tripled in seven years.

Even if you’re not suffering from lifelong depression or anxiety, there are millions of Australians who need support at different times in their life.

If this were a plague of some kind, we’d have stopped the presses and made mandatory immunisations.

But the sad truth is, today, the Australian Medical Association calls our mental health system “fundamentally broken”. Emotional health continues to be treated as “the poor cousin to physical health“. And when you realise you’re not okay, you have very few places to turn.

Getting help is an uphill battle

The number of obstacles our society puts on seeking support are exhausting, even when you’re not feeling depressed or anxious. Here are some:

Stigma

Generations past would see depression and anxiety as a problem for the few, not the many. Psychologists were for navel-gazing yuppies or “crazy” people. Everyone feels worried or sad, the thinking goes, so what do you need a doctor for? It’s all in your head!

In school, most of us grow up being told what to think, not how to think. We might learn what the brain’s patterns might be in a scientific sense. But we don’t delve into practical psychology, like dealing with stress, relationships or positive thinking. The lucky ones will learn it from their parents; the others fend for themselves.

Considering how greatly our thoughts shape our lives, it staggers me that we leave it to chance that we understand how this works.

It seems the deck is already stacked. We’re not educating on how to recognise where your thought patterns are impacting you in a negative way. And when you do recognise it, you’re judged for it.

Doctors

Today, many doctors simply don’t have in-depth training in mental health. Without adequate training, mental health can easily be treated as a list of symptoms that need to be corrected. What it actually is is a complex state that needs to be taken as a whole.

I remember one doctor telling me, “To get past depression, do something that will add a bit of sparkle to your day.” I thought to myself, I don’t know what that is. That’s the problem.

Even if a doctor is versed in psychological conditions, they are often time-poor. I’ve had mental health sessions that have tried to cram diagnosing a complex emotional state into fifteen minutes.

Psychologists

Finding the right psychologist takes time. There are many kinds, with many specialisations – and of course, you need to find one you click with.

But even if you can afford the time, it can be hard to afford the cost. Psychologist sessions are notoriously expensive – and even with the rebate, the gap is anywhere from $40 to $100 a session. For those with kids, mortgages or basically any expenses in life at all, it can be a struggle to keep justifying the visit. Especially in a society that tells you that it’s all a placebo, anyway.

What’s more, Australians receive only ten subsidised sessions per calendar year. For weekly sessions, that’s less than three months. After that, you’re on your own, with $100 per session (at least) to boot.

It’s a bizarre reflection on how our society thinks mental health works – just go for a few sessions and you’ll “fix it”. For more complex problems, this is simply not enough – and these are the people who are often least able to afford it.

As Fairfax journalist Jill Stark notes,

Many people are no longer here because they couldn’t afford their mental illness. It’s a devastating indictment on a system that is fundamentally broken.

Is this really a system that can support the number of people who need to use it? Is it any wonder that psychologists are still considered the domain of the middle-class?

What we can do

“There is no health without mental health,” one US Surgeon General commented in 1999. Fortunately, my generation is much more aware of the mental health concerns we can deal with, but awareness is not enough.

My dream would be to see greater literacy in mental health across the board. Could school kids be taught some basic emotional first aid? After all, the best medication isn’t a medication – it’s learning how to think well and practise healthy self-image. This can also help ease the strain on our ailing health system.

Our Medicare system needs to reflect that we’re in times where mental stress and pain are common. Doctors and psychologists need the training and financial backing to support patients well. That includes extending the number of sessions that are subsidised – because, to be honest, I’d be hard-pressed to find many people who can afford regular sessions of $170 a pop.

It’s also a matter of starting conversations and recognising that mental health checkups are as important as physical ones.

If you want to read about how you can support people you love, here’s a good start.

For those who need support themselves, reach out to Lifeline or Beyond Blue.

Asking “Are you okay?” is a great way to begin a conversation. But every one of us needs to know where our support is if the answer is “No.”