The Australian Psychological Society (APS) is urging the Federal Government to stabilise and strengthen the psychology sector following the release of shocking workplace research by the Australian National University.
ANU researchers examined the professional and personal impacts of disasters on psychologists and patients since 2019 and how best to support the psychology workforce, with key findings including:
Psychologists reported increased frequency and severity in patient presentations, specifically:
- Three quarters of psychologists reported increased anxiety, stress/wellbeing, climate distress and adjustment issues.
- More than 50% of psychologists reported increased depression, trauma, loss/grief, complex mental health and child behaviour management among other presentations.
Psychologists also self-reported:
- Mild or higher symptoms of depression (39%) or anxiety (28%).
- Many likely have Generalised Anxiety Disorder (11%) or Major Depressive Disorder (18%).
- 47.6 % reported wellbeing scores below 50, which has been linked to an elevated risk of mortality.
- 26.4% of psychologists also met the criteria for burnout, with a further 34.5% in danger of burnout.
Direct and indirect exposure to natural disasters, the pandemic and increases in service demand and complex cases were all significant factors in the results.
Psychologists said that easier access to Medicare rebates (75.8%), increased Medicare sessions for patients (74.8%), increasing the Medicare rebate (70%) and growing the psychology workforce (65.1%) would have the most benefit to themselves and patients.
APS President Dr Catriona Davis-McCabe urged action to avert the looming workforce cliff saying, "highly qualified and experienced psychologists are cracking under intense pressure and we must support them."
"Too many psychologists are working in unsustainable and unsafe conditions. What will it take before the government acts? Chronic workforce shortages combined with overwhelming demand is a recipe for disaster for psychologists, patients and the community."
Despite mental ill-health being Australia's leading health condition, the Federal Government is meeting just 35% of its own workforce target for psychologists, the lowest of any mental health profession.
4.2 million people aged 16-85 have had a mental disorder in the last 12-months, with 14% of children and adolescents aged 4-17 also experiencing a disorder in the last 12-months. This number is expected to rise without government intervention.
The research echo's previous APS member surveys in 2023, 2022 (1) and 2021 which have exposed dire conditions in the sector for several years. The most recent APS survey found psychologists either reducing (48%) or looking to reduce (18%) work hours, and that 44% were considering extended leave, leaving the profession or early retirement due to an unsafe workload.
Pandemic-induced programs such as telehealth, a doubling of subsidised sessions from 10 to 20 per year and the Bushfire Recovery Access Program were found to have increased patient accessibility to treatment.
The authors also found that increased waitlists and workloads since 2019 largely reflected the unprecedented demand for services and the unmet mental health need in Australia and were not due to the aforementioned pandemic-induced programs.
Lead ANU researcher Emily MacLeod was clear that workforce expansion must be prioritised alongside greater support for existing psychologists saying, "with future disasters expected, now is the time to build the capacity of the psychology workforce and prepare psychologists to meet the future mental health needs of Australians.
Dr Davis-McCabe welcomed ANU's findings and recommendations saying "whether its universities, government reports or our own research, the workforce crisis is consistently found to underpin many of the problems facing psychologists and patients and must be addressed."
Through years of consultation with members the APS has developed several solutions to this crisis, namely:
- Fund university places on par with GPs, veterinarians and dentists
- Boost perinatal care and adopt a 1:500 psychologist to student ratio in schools
- Create a 'youth mental health safety net' so young people can access affordable care
- Replicate GP regional relocation incentives to get more services in areas of most need
- Remove GP referral requirements for the first 3 sessions, and
- Reinstate the 20 sessions program in line with the Better Access Review recommendations.
The full ANU report can be found here. The APS provided collaborative support.
The APS's Pre-Budget Submission 2023/24 can be found here.
