Psychologists in residential aged care: Position statement

At the Australian Psychological Society (APS), we aim to ensure all people, including older people living in residential aged care, have equitable access to high-quality health and mental health care.

In this position statement, the APS identifies the poor mental health of aged care residents, the impacts on them, their families and the workforce, and the investments needed to ensure all aged care residents have access to high-quality psychological support when needed. These investments and solutions include:

• Government design and implementation of targeted legislative, funding and policy levers that ensures aged care residents have access to allied health professionals, including psychologists.
• More postgraduate psychology training programs, continuing professional development and incentives to increase the availability of the psychology workforce in residential aged care settings - especially in rural and remote contexts. There is also an urgent need to increase the diversity of the profession and grow the numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse psychologists working in residential aged care settings.
• Permanently funding the MBS Better Access initiative and the roll out to all facilities of the PHN Improved Access to Psychological Services in Aged Care Facilities initiative.
• Incentivised training, education and support programs for aged care staff to build their mental health literacy and enable them to better identify and refer residents experiencing psychological distress or mental ill-health.
• Research funding and scholarships to grow the evidence base about health promotion approaches and psychological prevention programs and treatments in residential aged care settings.

View position statement