No one refuses treatment for a broken arm but more than 50% of Australians may refuse treatment for mental health

For most people, going to see a GP about their mental health is a big first step. But for many people it may also be their last.

A new survey commissioned by Psychmatch, a Canberra based start-up that matches clients and therapists on their working relationship, asked a representative sample of 500 Australians ‘have you ever been referred to see a psychologist or counsellor and not followed through by making an appointment?’

The majority 73% have never been referred, 12.7% have been referred and always followed through, 10.6% have been referred and sometimes followed through and 3.4% have been referred and never followed through.

If we take out the majority that have never been referred, this means, out of those who have identified as needing help through getting a referral, 47.6% always follow through, 39.7% sometimes follow through and 12.7% never follow through at all.

Download full data set here.

Often those who do manage to follow through on their referral aren’t much better off. If we look at the subset of people who have accessed hospital or ambulance public mental health services over the last decade, the top clinical outcome is ‘no significant change’, followed by ‘significant deterioration’ and ‘significant improvement’ taking last place. See data set here. Broader research findings also indicate highly variable results for people accessing therapy.

Unlike physical health, with mental health, one size does not fit all. We know from a large body of research that a good working relationship between the client and psychologist can have a significant impact on the success of treatment, this is known as a good therapeutic alliance. See research here.

We think part of the problem is the lack of information available to help the patient or person making the referral decide whether a psychologist or councillor is going to be a good fit.

If we want to improve the outcomes for people with depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions, Australia needs to get smarter about the way we make referrals.

Given lack of motivation is a common symptom for many conditions, we need to make the referrals process smoother and easier, and not rely so much on people to do the heavy lifting themselves. And we need to make sure that when someone does go to see a psychologist or councillor, it is a positive and constructive experience that will keep them coming back for further therapy.

These are the problems we are trying to solve at Psychmatch. We match people to a psychologist or councillor that they are likely to have a strong therapeutic alliance with based on the best available evidence. And we also want to make sure the referral and booking process are more tightly integrated, with less work for everyone involved and a better chance that people suffering from mental illness will follow through to get the help they need.

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