Mental health and support

NICOLETTA CROLLINI

Nicoletta Crollini is Haemophilia Social Worker at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney

Starting the new year can be a time of reflection about what’s going well and what’s troubling us in our lives.

I thought it might be useful to focus on mental health and how to access supports considering:

• 1 in 5 Australians have experienced some form of mental health disorder in the past 12 months.
• 1 in 2 Australians will experience a mental disorder in their lifetime.
• Younger males aged 16 to 24 experience the highest rates of mental disorders.¹

It is also worthwhile noting that the haemophilia and inherited bleeding disorder community is not exempt from dealing with mental health issues, with an estimated 2 out of every 5 people with haemophilia dealing with depression and/or anxiety.²

Raising awareness of the various mental health supports and services that anyone can access is important to ensure people always know where and how to seek the help and support needed.

HOW TO SEEK SUPPORT?

24/7 Phone services and websites

There are plenty of services that are available to provide instant support to anyone dealing with a mental health issue or crisis. Below is a list of services that can be contacted to talk through what is happening in your life as well as link you in with long term supports.

SERVICE	CONTACT NO	WEBSITE	WHO FOR?
Beyond Blue	1300 224 636	www.beyondblue.org.au	For everyone
Headspace   (NB .org.au not .com)	Find local centre online	www.headspace.org.au	For young people and parents
Kids Helpline	1800 551 800	www.kidshelpline.com.au	For kids, young people and parents
Lifeline	13 11 14	www.lifeline.org.au	For everyone

Contact your Haemophilia Treatment Centre

You can contact your local HTC and connect with the psychosocial worker at the Centre to talk through what is happening. If needed, the psychosocial worker can connect you with long term support and localised mental health services.

Talk with your GP

You can also visit your general practitioner (GP) who can complete a Mental Health Treatment Plan with you, which is a tailored plan that links you in with specific mental health support services.

• A Mental Health Treatment Plan will allow you to initially access 6 individual psychological appointments that are subsidised through Medicare.
• If more sessions are needed, you can discuss this with your GP to access more Medicare subsidised psychological appointments.
• Through a Mental Health Treatment Plan, you will be able to access a range of psychological support specialists such as psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists to assist with your mental health care needs.

I hope you find this information useful, and I encourage anyone who is struggling with any mental health issues to seek the support they need.

REFERENCES

1. Australian Government. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Mental health, 2020. Accessed 24 February 2022.
2. Al-Huniti A, Reyes Hernandez M, Ten Eyck P, Staber JM. Mental health disorders in haemophilia: Systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Haemophilia 2020; 26(3),431-442. doi.org/10.1111/hae.13960

This article is adapted with permission from a previous article in the HFNSW newsletter: Crollini, N. Managing your mental health and supports. Factor Matters, 2022 March (49):7.