If I could change one thing, it would be that every person understands mental health care, in the same way we understand our physical health care.
I am hoping that this blog is a solid start to greater understanding.
First, let’s revisit our medical pathway and how it meets our needs.
Imagine, you have a rash that you can’t get rid of, or an ongoing headache that is not getting better with over-the-counter fixes, or any of the tried and true home remedies.
Step 1: Make an appointment with your General Practitioner (GP).
This step is sometimes the hardest, you might worry that you haven’t tried everything you could, and need to seek further help. But you push past this and book that appointment! (And we are so proud of you!)
Step 2: Attend the appointment.
Usually, a visit to the G.P., and perhaps a scheduled follow up will get the job done. You might get a prescription ointment for the rash, or medication for the headache, and so you get back to your best life.
However, let’s imagine that the headache or rash doesn’t go away after these treatments.
Step 3: Return to the GP
In this appointment, the GP supports you to find a specialist, perhaps a dermatologist for the rash or a neurologist for the headache. Again, at the Specialist level, with a series of sessions that include tailored tests and treatments, you will most often get back to your best life.
Sometimes the G.P. and Specialist are ongoing, but with that help, you work toward your best life as a team. If things are still not feeling right, the GP and the specialist may recruit further team members such as a surgeon, who can work at a medical alteration level, and together, the team goal is to continue the goal of living your best physical life!
Very few people will hesitate to follow this process, and if they do hesitate, they have family, friends, or colleagues to encourage them otherwise.
Now let's take a look at mental health, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in 2021;
43.7% of people between the ages of 16-85 have experienced a mental health challenge.
Of these individuals;
52.9% of people who had a mental health concern do not reach out for mental health support
Of the individuals that reached out for support;
28.5% of people felt mental health needs were not met, when they reached out to professionals for help.
26.1% of people felt the need for information about their own mental health or treatment was not met
It’s clear that the people ARE taking action for their mental health, are not getting the support they need.
Imagine how different these statistics would be if EVERY person had a tailored mental health pathway in the same way we do for Physical Health.
So here’s the thing. The process for mental health support is actually similar, but rarely communicated:
A Registered Counsellor is like the GP of the mental health pathway. Registered Counsellors are trained for prevention and early intervention of mental health challenges. For physical health concerns when over the counter fixes and home remedies don’t resolve the issue, you see a GP. The same is for mental health challenges, when self-help or talking to family and friends aren’t working, and you continue to feel bad, you make an appointment with a Counsellor.
Counselling has a focus on mental unwellness and explores the parts that influence the unwellness and then using treatments and solutions that are aligned to the specific situation and person, the Counsellors works with you to move back into mental wellness. As it is with a GP, this can prevent or negate the need for more intensive support.
As the GP might refer you to a specialist, a Counsellor is trained to recognize if the presentation is more complex, in which they can guide you to a professional that deals with mental illness. A Psychologist is a mental health professional who is trained to work with a mind that is mentally ill. Just as a Specialist does in the medical process, a Psychologist delves into depths of specific underlying factors that need a more intensified treatment, toward mental wellness. As with a specialist, sometimes people go back to mental wellness, and some may still be troubled with the mental health challenge but can live a better life with tailored interventions.
Much like the Specialist and physical body, Psychologists are trained for treatment of more complex mental illnesses. This could be biologically within your brain patterns and chemicals, or due to outside exposure of things that have affected your thoughts, and need a more concentrated level of care for you to return to your best self.
If a person has gone through this process, and still with limited resolve, a Psychiatrist can be added to the team. Again, as it is with a surgeon in medical physical care, they are called on if the needs require a higher level intervention to balance out or calm thoughts that are hindering a quality of life.
This is a simplistic view, but a great way to start mapping out your mental health needs. The rest includes other types of external support, just as a GP would on a need to basis.
As everyday people, it is so important that we know this structure as fluidly as we do in our medical approach. There are past and current reasons that we don’t, but the awareness is changing and with it, a time to make this process as smooth as our medical pathways, so every person can get the support they need and the level they need it.
The reasons for this pathway not being clear before now, is another blog for another day, but for now, if this one brings the mentioned stats down a notch, then this a good start.
Reference:Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2020-21). National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing.https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/mental-health/national-study-mental-health-and-wellbeing/2020-21
Written By: Natalie Wild
Edited By: Chantelle Gagachis
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