Hi Arthurly
It certainly seems like things have gotten off to a bad start for you.
Ok … so lets just get back to basics. The main and most important thing is that you get the care you need for your depression.
There are 2 major ways that depression is treated in the community setting
1. with medications ( usually via a GP , sometimes a psychiatrist)
2. with counselling (usually from a psychologist )
Most people try counselling first, and if that isn’t successful on its own, they are advised it add in medication. If depression is severe, some start both right from the beginning.
Ok .. So lets just go over getting into therapy:
You can go
1. via a GP who writes a Mental Health Plan for you . This means that you get 6 visits with a psychologist that will attract a medicare rebate ( making it cheaper for you!) You can then get a review with the GP and get another 4 , so a total of 10 per calendar year.
2. get a referral from GP to a psychologist but instead of claiming via Medicare , you claim via your private Health fund extras ( if you have that)
3. Go to the psychologist and pay the bill but don't claim from either Medicare OR your private health fund ( expensive way to go!)
Different people like different options for various reasons …
I just suggest you chose the one that works for you. In my experience most people go with option 1 as it is often the cheapest and most dont have extras cover anyway.
(There has been some issues around having to declare visits to a therapist on life insurance forms and premiums going up so some people have not wanted to have any “record” on their Medicare file of visits … but this is not a common issue.)
Dont let any of red tape put you off getting what you need - a good and trained health professional to guide you to better health.
