How long does it take to get a first appointment with a psychiatrist?

[LimeGreenTea]

I recently talked to my GP on the subject of my mental health, they gave me a referral to a specific psychiatrist and said to make a booking with them. I did as they said but the earliest possible booking is for November (for future reference it's currently June). Is this normal?

[Guest_4643]

Hey, welcome.

I guess it would depend on the referral - if it's urgent, your diagnoseses, etc. I got to see mine a week after I was referred, but mine's on Telehealth. I'm not trying to brag, that's just my experience. I hope you find one you're comfortable with, & sooner rather than later. Good luck.

[Guest_1643]

hey there hello1

I wanted to give you a bit of encouragement - i reckon if you go on that list to see the person in October, u may find it gets moved earlier if you get put on a cancellation list. I used to call a lot, every day at times, to ask if they had cancellations. One day I got lucky "someone JUST cancelled... you're in luck... we'll give you that time!"

my gut tells me to accept the october time and get on cancelltion lists and u may get in!

sadly with covid atm there is a very long wait list almost everywhere.... it's awful. 3 months minimum.

I hope that either this psych or another one will take u in soon. My wait was 2 months.

I don't think getting in to any psych in less than 2 weeks is common atm but I believe if you need to see someone earlier, u could also say that u would like to have an assessment only. This would be only 1-2 sessions and some agree to accept patients for this even if they aren't officially accepting new patients, because it's only a short-term commitment for them.

Then the psych that you see for the assessment could potentially link u in with a colleague who has more time.

I wanted to applaud everyone here for putting in effort, time and care for themselves by seeking MH help. You deserve help and are worth it. I'm proud of u all

[Franc_I]

When the people in these post talk about waiting times, is that for a private or a public psychiatrist? I am unable to afford a private psychiatrist and I wonder if there even are bulk billing Pychs?

[Guest_1643]

private psychs, wa what i meant.
I don't know how you get in to see a public psych. If you have a case manager at a hospital they can link u in, or if u are registered for psychiatric help with that psych. U may not get to choose, in that case, who the psych is.
There are a few bulk billing psychs, is that what u mean by public psychs? To me these are still private ones.

I don't know how you find those or where. some may bulk-bill for certain ppl only, depending on financial situation and charge more for others.
Also some psychs may lower their fees slightly or a lot for low-income patients.

Depends on their empathy levels and always worth a chat about it. Good luck!

[Franc_I]

Thank you, Sleepy!

I meant, any psych who’s cheap or free.

You inspired me to contact my NDIS coordinator. They should know.

Thanks again. 😊

[Guest_1643]

hey Franc, awesome! I've asked and wandered myself a lot about how ppl access psychs in the public system

it sounded to me like u can get assigned one through case management or NDIS but I don't know at all if that's true or if that works.

Bulk-billing psychs definitely exist but i hear they're hard to come by. Cheap i reckon can be found through negotiaton. The receptionists may not know if the psych will or won't do that for u, in the private system, but once u start seeing them they may have empathy for ppl who can't afford their full fee, and consider diff options, inlcuding bulk billing, charging less, etc.

They also all charge diff rates initially - seeing one fairly new to the system and young, can be good - they charge less, are recently trained, and can still be awesome and not burnt out!

Seeing a free psych that u like can be hard (but still possible!), but getting in cheaply or affordably is deff possible. Hope u find someone