Taylor and Francis Group, Australian Psychologist, 3(46), p. 153-162, 2011
DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-9544.2011.00039.x
Full text: Unavailable
The Australian Government’s Better Access initiative was introduced in late 2006 to increase treatment rates for people with mental disorders. It provides for reimbursement of psychologists’ services through Medicare. The current pilot study examines the experiences of psychologists with this initiative.Arandomsample of 204 of 4,235 psychologists in private practicewas approached and 73 psychologists (36%)were interviewed. The current study suggests that psychologists have had positive experiences with Better Access. They have appreciated the greater security of income and greater variety ofwork afforded by the initiative, and they have observed flow-on benefits in terms of increased access and reduced stigma for their clients. Additional research is required to corroborate these findings with a larger sample of psychologists, but the current findings provide indicative evidence that Better Access is assisting psychologists to meet a previously unmet community need for mental health care.