Central and Eastern Sydney PHN

Introduction

Central and Eastern Sydney PHN has commissioned APMHA HealthCare to deliver the Psychological Support Service (PSS). This service is available throughout the Central and Eastern Sydney PHN region and aligns with a stepped needs-based primary health care approach, also known as a Stepped Mental Health Model of Care.

Services Available

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1. Psychological Support Services (PSS)

PSS provides free short term face-to-face, or via telehealth, psychological services to populations who have been identified as underserviced and/or hard to reach.

This service targets people experiencing Mild to Moderate mental health concerns, who may benefit from short term treatment. Clients are provided with face to face support and are delivered by Psychologists, Mental Health Social Workers, Credentialed Mental Health Nurses and Mental Health Occupational Therapists.

PSS is a complementary program to Better Access (Medicare subsidised psychological services). The GP will need to assess whether Better Access or to PSS is more appropriate based on the clients circumstances. While these programs cannot be accessed at the same time, approval can be requested to access a secondary referral pathway if all sessions from the first referral pathway have been utilised.

You can also access a list of PSS registered mental health professionals available under PSS.

2. Provisional referral Pathways

Under the PSS program, clients are able to be referred through provisional pathways.

A provisional referral allows for the first 2 sessions to be approved for an assessment with a PSS registered mental health professional prior to development of a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan (GPMHTP).

For child referrals, 3 sessions are made available prior to the completion of a GPMHTP.

For this service to continue beyond the first 2(or 3) sessions, the patient must see their GP to get a referral and GPMHTP completed and sent to CESPHN’s Central Intake Team.

Please Note: Provisional referrals should be completed electronically via CESPHN’s Provisional Referral Form.

For support, please contact the CESPHN Central Intake and Triage Team on 1300 170 554.

Areas of Service

Patients who live, work, go to school, or see their GP in the Central and Eastern Sydney region.

 

Eligibility

  • Children (0-12 yo)
  • Young people (13-25 yo)
  • Adults (26-64 yo)
  • COVID Inreach Support (65+yo)
  • Individuals who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Asexual or Questioning (LGBTIQA+)
  • Experiencing perinatal depression and their partners
  • From an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background
  • From a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) background
  • Attempted, or are at risk of suicide or self-harm
  • Experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness
  • Individuals with mild intellectual disability who may benefit from short term psychological intervention when other mental health concerns are diagnosed

image: cesphn

How do I refer?

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Who can send a referral?
  • Medical Practitioners: GPs, Psychiatrists, Paediatricians, Obstetrician-Gynaecologist (peri-natal)
  • Non-medical Practitioners: Referrals can also be accepted from some non-medical professionals including but not limited to school counsellors, directors of early childhood services, headspace clinicians, maternal and child health nurses, allied health professionals, Aboriginal health workers, Aboriginal Care coordinators and Outreach workers and Acute Mental Health Teams. See here for a full list of approved professionals.
Sending a referral

All referrals must come through the CESPHN Mental Health Central Intake team via the Online Service Referral Form or Healthlink Referral form.

  • Referrals will not be accepted via email or fax.
  • A GP Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) is required for this service. The online referral form and Healthlink referral templates are compliant with the billing requirements for a GP MHTP. GPs do not have to complete a separate MHTP in addition to the online/Healthlink referral form.
  • Non-medical practitioners can refer without a completed GP MHTP. However, they must complete one within the patient’s first three sessions to continue with the program.
How to complete the online PSS form