Are you looking for a doctor, therapist or support group?

[Chris_B]

Hi everyone,

We are unable to provide recommendations for specific practitioners here on the forums, but if you're looking for a practitioner in your area, please use our practitioner directory here.

Our practitioner directory is designed to help members find a medical or allied health professional in their local area who can help to diagnose, treat and manage depression and/or anxiety. The directory is not an endorsement of the health professionals listed or the services they provide. The health professionals who appear on the directory are those who have chosen to provide us with their details. We are not responsible for keeping the information up to date, although we make regular requests for listed health practitioners to do so.

Please feel free to share general advice on the forums about what to look for in a good mental health practitioner. 

The Black Dog Institute have a great section on their website about consulting various kinds of professionals, including GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists and counsellors. This resource explains the difference between practitioner types, what you can expect from an assessment and what to do if you're not feeling better after seeking treatment.

UPDATE 22/7: The website Patient Opinion Australia contains feedback on a range of health practitioners, which you may find useful in finding a good practitioner, or telling your story of a less-than-ideal experience.

UPDATE 6/2/17: For support group listings, please consult the Black Dog pages here. We are unable to provide recommendations for support groups here on the forums.

[Owly]

The problem with this directory is that it is more or less just a generic list of names, we have no concrete way of judging the quality and experience of these practitioners to decide who would be more suitable for specific people.

Looking at a long list of names makes it even harder to choose a practitioner.

[geoff]

dear Chris, thanks for this information as it's under 'Get involved' at the top of this page, and it would correct me on a lot of posts. Thanks Geoff.

[Chris_B]

Hi Owly, I've responded to you in your other thread too, but you're right, as I mentioned the list is not an endorsement of any particular practitioner. There are many different types of treatment available for anxiety and depression, and what works for some may not work for others.

I'd recommend checking out the Black Dog Institute link I gave, as they have some great information about what to look for in a good therapist.  As I said in the other thread, if you ring our support service and explain your situation then they may be able to provide some more clarity for you around what types of therapy may be beneficial.

[Sophie_M]

Here's a bit of additional information that may help in finding someone that you match well with, as the therapeutic relationship is often key in building trust and achieving the outcomes we want most.

There are two types of registered psychologists that you can book in with, and if you have a referral from your GP, then the majority of the cost can be covered by Medicare through the Better Outcomes Initiative. You can then ask to work with a general psychologist or a clinical psychologist. The main difference between the two is that a clinical psychologist can diagnose, and a general psychologist cannot.

In a practical sense, this can meant that the cost may be different, or that the amount of counselling in a session can vary (some may focus on assessment and diagnosis more than counselling).

Either way, feeling comfortable and asking questions, even before booking, can help you to find the right fit.

Some common questions may be:

- What type of therapeutic interventions do they use and what does that mean in practice?

- How busy is their practice, and will they be available in outside hours if you feel at risk?

- Do they work with people experiencing suicide thoughts? (not all do)

- Is there anything they think you should consider before booking an appointment?

[cRook]

Owly is right. We don't need a general list of practitioners, we need a list of practitioners that are ready to help. I've been to one GP that told me that depression wasn't real and another who insinuated that asking for a mental health plan was taking help away from people who really needed it. Many years ago, beyondblue had a section on their website for GPS who had some kind of accredition with them. We need this back. I'm currently trying to find a GP for someone close to me, because they've been let down before and they need to know that they'll be helped, before they arrive, not decide whether or not they're a good fit afterwards.

[BlackOnBlack]

I am frustrated because it is virtually impossible to see someone when you need to. It seems that there are too few mental health resources available.

Just yesterday my GP recommended I see someone for some urgent councelling. The next available appointment time is not for 3 weeks. What do I do in the mean time?

I've even gone to the local hospital emergency department because I was having a crisis. After a 4 hours waith got fobbed of to a local mental health service with a 6 week wait to see someone. What use is that?

Why don't they realise that sometimes you need to see someone now?

[ElDiablo]

I don't know if anyone has this issue with GPs. They always seem to be in a hurry or just form an opinion of whatever they have in mind. And don't really bother or want to give you any medication, unless you're going to die. If they cannot help me when I'm in pain, why bother about my high cholesterol and crap and try to scare me you can die and very willing to give medications then!@?

I'm sorry I cannot be very emotional or cannot put up an act for my pain. I don't drink or do drugs, but now I see no better options from the medical system.

[Dr_Kim]

Hi there everyone,

It is super frustrating for everyone to live in a community that has an underfunded health care system. I can promise you that GPs would love there to be all sorts of specialists readily available for their patients when needed but this is rarely the case. 

Mostly we make do with the system we have which is often slow and often imperfect but if we all work together can often get some results.

In order to manage this system, my suggestion is that you try to see your GP as “on your side”. They know the system pretty well and can usually work it for you but you need to feel that you guys are a team together working to get the best from the system that you can without unrealistic expectations getting in the way and making you both upset.

So maybe slow down and start with a double appointment at the GP. Come in prepared. Write down a list of immediate issues and maybe more long term goals. That way the GP knows what to prioritise and what can wait a bit. ( clearly no one can do everything in one session) .

Then I suggest that you work together on a plan . For example. If you both feel that a mental health plan to see a psychologist is a good idea, then organise that. If if it is going to be a number of weeks until you can be seen ( which is actually the norm these days ) , then work together on what strategies you might use to get through the next few weeks.

You might like to think about what you have done in the past to "get yourself through". In times of increased anxiety or negative thinking, have you tried to relieve the thoughts with going for a walk , or going to a movie , or calling someone you know or a helpline or doing a puzzle or anything that might distract you momentarily from the thoughts ?

Remember it's a partnership with the GP , which means you need to add SOMETHING to the plan , some options. 

Your GP might offer some things too.. maybe until your appointment comes up, they might offer regular appointments so you can drop in and tell them how you are going and which coping strategies are helping or not. Or maybe during this time.. you guys can get to know each other better and develop a relationship so the appointments are not “ wasted” but important building blocks to a long term collaboration.

Try to remember that the GP is most likely coming from a place of genuinely trying to help you and behave in an ethical and professional way too. Sometimes this means that they may seem a bit cold but ultimately the usual reason is that they have a checklist going in their minds of what they believe is the best thing for you in the long term and are brave enough to withstand your short term disappointment in them in order to serve your long term health needs.

A good example of this is when people come in wanting antibiotics for a viral cold . We know the antibiotics won’t help and in fact just contribute to the worrying problem of antibiotic resistance in the community. The person in the office however believes they will help and wants the script. Sometimes you appear "heartless’ by not giving the prescription , but you are not being unkind, you are acting according to all your medical  knowledge about what is the best path to take. 

So … maybe take a breath and next time see your GP with a double appointment and some preparation and the belief that they are trying to help and also that you need to do at least half of the work on the team. I feel this will make you and your GP more likely to develop a good productive relationship where you can feel understood and supported but also not put the bar up too high and feel disappointed and alone.

[Haether]

Speaking as a former medical student and someone with a severe psychotic illness, GPs (even if they are on the patient's side, not an assumption I would make from my experience as a student) are often pretty ignorant about mental health concerns - ie I have not found one who was aware of the concept of a manic switch following antidepressants in bipolar, they all insist I should keep taking my antidepressants (exactly the worst advice). So I would advocate getting a referral to a psychologist and/or psychiatrist; again that's difficult as there is no guarantee of finding someone who is sympathetic or who you gel with - and as someone who was misdiagnosed for over a decade including by a Professor of Psychiatry, there is no guarantee of clinical skills. Medical professionals in general are pretty antsy about the idea that you are there to interview them for the position of your treating practitioner, they tend to think they are there to assess you (and that this is how the interview should start) rather than the other way round! All I can suggest is that people persist until they find someone who they are comfortable with. I know back in the dim dark ages (20+ years ago) women's health centers used to keep a file of Drs - from numerous specialties - and the feedback that they had got from various women about these Drs, and they used to be able to give recommendations based on that. I'm sure that it must be possible to set something like that up online - informally, I don't think an agency could do that because it probably comes with ethical (and other) concerns, but somewhere people could give feedback on who they felt helped them and who didn't would be great. This probably doesn't help, but when I was looking for a psych I had three names which I gave to an acquaintance/friend who was a psychologist whose father was a senior psychiatrist and asked if he could ask Dad if he had any thoughts; came back with the fact that two had been disciplined for boundary violations and one also had a suicide attempt - a rather high hit rate! (Dad had been on whatever the College's disciplinary board was called.)