Urgent action is required to fund initiatives that support mental health and tackle mental ill health earlier – both to stem the flow into early intervention services, and to improve outcomes for children and young people.
We know there is a strong economic case for investing early in a child’s life. The Productivity Commission report highlighted that it costs significantly more to treat mental illness in adolescence and adulthood than it does to promote mental health and, if needed, intervene early during childhood. Early intervention and prevention programs for children show a return of between $1 and $10.50 for each dollar spent.
We can be sure that today’s children and young people are likely to be the most severely impacted by this ‘shadow pandemic’ – the mental health impacts of COVID-19. Weeks and months of home schooling, major life milestones missed, relationship and financial issues at home, and a lack of certainty about the future are having a truly devastating impact on our youth.
So, what must be done?
The APS is laser-focused in this area and has been engaging with government to provide solutions.
Psychologists in schools
- We have been advocating for many years for a national benchmark of at least 1 school-based psychologist to every 500 students. Psychologists in schools are essential for leveraging this opportunity to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people.
Digital solutions
- In our Pre-Budget Submission 2021-22 we called on Government to fund the APS to develop a digital portal for child mental health and wellbeing.
- The May Federal Budget committed $111.2 million over four years to expand and enhance digital mental health services – funding that will go some way towards our calls for better support in this space.
Waitlist issues and increasing the workforce
- We know that many people struggle to find the support they need and are falling through the cracks of a complex and impenetrable mental health system. This has been exacerbated by the pandemic.
- Our own research shows that 1 in 5 psychologists have had to close their books to new clients, and 88% have seen an increase in wait times since the start of the pandemic.
- We need to grow the workforce to meet the demand right into the future. The APS is calling for a dedicated national psychology workforce target, with at least 20% growth within 3 years.
- The APS has been published widely in the media on this topic and we have been pressing government on this since the start of the pandemic.
- We need to draw upon our provisional psychologists within the educational sector. This would be a win-win for both schools and psychologists. Schools can provide paid placements/internships for provisional psychologists; and provisional psychologists can enhance the capability of the schools to improve mental health and wellbeing of children, youth and the school community. This is especially relevant to rural and remote communities where provisional psychologists could be incentivised to work in these locations.
Strengthening Medicare
- Our calls for government to permanently increase the number of sessions available under the Better Access program, and to determine the role of telehealth beyond 2021, are loud and clear. We will not back down on this critical advocacy.
Referral pathways
- Psychologists have intimate knowledge about the landscape of mental health support services in the community. We can effectively refer and partner with a range of services and supports for families, children and young people for early intervention supports as required.
Our solutions have the potential to ensure that our young people get the support they need and deserve. We will continue to advocate governments on these issues. If you have additional ideas you would like us to explore please let me know
Zena Burgess
Chief Executive Officer