A nationwide shortage of psychologists has emerged since the COVID19 pandemic. 9News
support are being forced to wait months to see a psychologist as demand for professional help far outstrips the available services.
"Our waiting list for bulk-billed appointments has grown continuously since the start of COVID and continues to grow," he said.With so many people seeking professional support for their mental health, private psychology clinics are also having to tell people they cannot get short-term help and must go on a waitlist.
Naomi Malone's psychology clinic in central Victoria, A Life Simply Lived, had a waitlist of more than 150 people last year before she rapidly expanded her team to ensure people weren't going without help.Telehealth allows people in regional areas to connect with specialists online. To stop telehealth being a barrier to providing sessions Malone's team organise for clients to come into the clinic and use a room, the internet and a computer to have their telehealth call.But hiring more staff is not easy at most clinics due to the nationwide shortage of psychologists.
"Psychologists have been warning for a long time that the barriers to care are far too high, and the psychology workforce is simply not supported well enough to meet demand," APS CEO Dr Zena Burgess said. "This had enabled all our daytime weekday appointments to be bulk-billed back then, but doing this is no longer viable."She said that with all the work and costs required outside of actual sessions with clients, she had calculated that if her clinic completely bulk-bulled she would be working for around $12 an hour.To increase the amount of bulk-billed appointments available, Vella said government changes should be made to allow provisional psychologist to bulk-bill their appointments.
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