Topic Tuesday // What is mental health reform and why is it important for you // Feb 14, 7-9pm AEDT

[Peta]

Will going to mental health services improve my life?

[Andra]

@FrankGQuinlan Wonderful. People underestimate the healing properties of being able to make a difference. I am very pleased there is focus on co design. Whenever I speak with other consumers its scary how similar our stories are of problems that many people think do not really exist any more.In our region there is a shortage of reasonable services so people often settle for care that does not really suit them or get labelled difficult

[Phoenix_Rising]

---

@FrankGQuinlan wrote:

yes @Phoenix_Rising, but we are all in it together..

We can all talk to our local member of parliament! We can all write a letter to the paper...

---

@FrankGQuinlan Yep. And it is super encouraging to know that there are people like you out there who DO get it and DO want to see change. I had my first psychiatric admission in 1997 and even though I don't really see that much has genuinely changed since then, I like knowing that there is a growing tide of people who are advocating for change and I am more than happy to add my voice to that tide 

[Zoe7]

There is the provision to provide 10 more sessions under  MHCP but you need to wait 3 months to do this - this is a very long time when you are under a lot of stress/distress and the mental and physical toll can be life threatening - why is the wait so long - surely it would be better to have continuous access to these sessions for continued care!

[FrankGQuinlan]

@BlueBay Hi there - this is the right place to say whatever is on your mind 🙂

The MBS sessions are limited because it saves money - rationing. 

Discharging people trying new meds, or without support, just sounds like like poor practice - wherever it occurs.  I bet they dont discharge their cardiac patients before they are ready!!

[NikNik]

Hi @Peta
That's a big question 🙂 I guess it depends on what you're looking for and making sure you connect with the relevant service.
I hope I speak on behalf of all MH services (not just SANE Australia) when I saw that our aim is to improve people's mental health and wellbeing - so hopefully we can achieve that with people.

If you're interested in other people's experiences seeking help, I'd encourage you to jump into the Lived Experience Forum and check out other people's stories.

[MelLeighD]

@FrankGQuinlan I understand that your role is to campaign for change here. There has been a lot of talk about the inadecuacy of the 10-12 sessions. I suffer from BPD. I know many others who do too, and am collating information as a freelance journalist to write articles specifically relating to this condition. People who suffer from BPD have often alienated themselves from the (economic) support of friends and loved ones. I know many who don't have the means to afford the private treatment on offer from private clinics for DBT, myself included. But, when the remission rate is so high after a solid year of DBT, and the economic potential to lift someone from welfare dependency is greater that the economic costs of fully subsidising treatment for DBT, isn't it short-sighted at best, and a form of class warfare at worst to not fully subsidise treatment for those not able to afford it?  

[FrankGQuinlan]

@Andra I am lucky enough to hear many of those stories first hand, and I agree with you that many are the same.

But it is always better if people tell their own stories - it can be very powerful in politics!

[Phoenix_Rising]

---

@FrankGQuinlan wrote:

@MelLeighD It is certainly a numbers game, and the sessions limit is mostly about rationing.

But to be honest I was not aware of rationing based on diagnosis.  I think GPs can prep a plan for any MH conditions - so people can acess the sessions

---

I think if you check out the fine print, yes, there are issues around who qualifies for a mental health care plan based on diagnosis. GPs etc tend to work around it by identifying depression/anxiety as the issue...even if the person actually has a formal diagnosis of borderline personality disorder.

[Former-Member]

I'm wondering (as I sit in the medical school library and watch little doctors studying) how much of the problem is policy, and how much is how we teach health professionals and how strained they are to act. Maybe if medical professionals were taught more about psychosocial and given the time to address these problems with the patient. But I guess that goes back to policy - giving the medical professionals the time and skills they need to do their job.......