Charting a future for mental health

A new 10-year mental health plan aims to pave a road to recovery for those suffering from mental illnesses.

Mental Health Minister, Mark Butler, said the Federal Government’s draft roadmap proposes a system that provides much-needed care for people living with mental illness.

“We especially need to target our efforts at those who are hard-to-reach and vulnerable, and stop them from falling between the cracks and from being shunted from one service to another,” Mr Butler said.

The 42-page draft roadmap outlines five key directions for the sector including promoting good mental health and preventing suicide, early detection and intervention, support for consumers and carers, increased participation in society and addressing service access gaps.

Equal accessibility to mental health services is one of the key priorities in the roadmap. Deputy CEO of beyondblue and Psychologist, Dr Nicole Highet, said recovering from mental illness can be more difficult for patients living in the country than in the city.

This divide is also acknowledged by the non-government organisation Psychiatric Rehabilitation Australia (PRA), which provides community based support services in over two dozen locations throughout NSW.

Based in Redfern, PRA sees a wide range of clients suffering from or affected by mental illness. A spokesperson for the organisation said while geography plays a large part in recovery, many people do not seek help for fear of discrimination.

“[People] don’t want to appear weak or they are afraid of what their friends and relatives will think,” the spokesperson said.

According to the National Mental Health Report published last year, reduced productivity associated with mental illness in the workforce costs the nation $5.9 billion annually.

However, a spokesperson for the Mental Health Minister said: “Undertaking paid work and being able to participate in meaningful activity and make social connections can be critical to people’s recovery from mental illness.”

Many mental health advocates have been long fighting against this catch-22 as they push for increased support for mentally-ill people to return to, or remain in, paid work.

Dr Highet said while she agrees joining the workforce is a proactive step towards a person’s recovery, treatments must be individually tailored as some people are highly debilitated and will not be in the position to work.

“There are stages of mental illness where being connected with the workplace and feeling remunerated are important to a person’s overall wellbeing.”

The draft roadmap is open to public consultation until February 1.