Matthew Templeton, a 27-year-old from Coffs Harbour, brings an urgent call to address mental health issues that affect the lives of Australians. His story illuminates the urgent, everyday struggles people face in this important field. Diagnosed with a complex combination of mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, in 2017, Templeton recently became a participant in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). His journey illustrates not only his personal struggles but the broader systemic issues within Australia’s mental health care landscape.
Templeton’s current NDIS package provides him with crucial support. It pays for a support worker to help him out, round the clock, six hours a day, seven days a week. His life has been punctuated by enormous tragedies. Since that time at just 14 years old, he has experienced homelessness and has been to jail over a dozen times. Maree Templeton, his mother, underscores the difficulty her son encounters in receiving adequate treatment. This troubling pattern is even more evident during his acute psychotic breaks.
Aussie Maree Templeton submitted the most chilling account of what Matthew’s been through. For one of those episodes, rather than being hospitalized, he ended up in jail. “People really and truly do not know what the mental health system is like,” she stated. Her concerns are the voice of many people with psychosocial disabilities who feel like they hit a wall when trying to get help.
Navigating the Complexities of Mental Health Support
One of Australia’s most eminent psychiatrists Professor Patrick McGorry has been treating Matthew since he was 12 years old at the Coffs Harbour Headspace clinic. Second, he talks about the overwhelming need for better mental health services. Now every month, he visits the clinic on-site to continue building Templeton’s support system. McGorry argues that with greater investment in mental health support within public hospitals, many Australians could be prevented from needing to rely on the NDIS.
Maree Templeton, a Templeton—a fellow activist, bred these sentiments. She observed that less than a quarter of people with psychosocial disabilities are granted approval for NDIS assistance. In her testimony, she detailed her frustrations of the systemic failures that often leave low-income people shut out from receiving necessary care. This is truly tragic. I’m not just speaking on my son’s behalf. There are 10 million Americans living with current psychosis, of whom 1.5 million are untreated, and they want treatment. Sadly, too often they are turned away,” she continued.
Professor Ian Hickie from Sydney University’s Brain and Mind Centre highlighted the chaotic nature of Australia’s mental health care system. He stated, “We have chaotic systems that are poorly coordinated and don’t track people over time.” Hickie’s observations point to a lack of coherent strategy in managing mental health conditions, emphasizing the need for more robust foundational supports.
The Federal Government’s Approach to Mental Health Care
In response to ongoing concerns regarding mental health services, the Albanese government is taking steps to reform the current system. The role of the federal government should be to create those “foundational supports.” These new services will be introduced beyond the NDIS and tailored to consumers with psychosocial disabilities. This new focus aims to fill those gaps in care that people like Matthew often encounter.
A spokesperson for the government stated, “The Commonwealth is prepared to negotiate in good faith and look forward to discussing the offer with states.” The Albanese government is clearly committed to improving access to mental health care. Their other big decision is to cut the NDIS growth rate from an interim target of 8 percent down to a more sustainable 5 to 6 percent. This is in line with wider moves to rein in the ballooning costs of the NDIS. Economists forecast these expenses to reach $52 billion this fiscal year.
Although many of these efforts are promising, experts are warning not to lose focus on the basic needs of people living with mental health conditions. “What we’re spending money on is pretty much palliative care,” a concerned source noted. And the legislators were adamant about the need to focus more on early intervention approaches. In this way, we can stop new illnesses and disabilities from worsening life circumstances.
The Call for Early Intervention
Additionally, the importance of early intervention as a principle in mental health care is paramount. Pramudie Gunaratne, a mental health advocate, remarked, “When someone has psychosis, it’s like the clock starts ticking, and we know the longer psychosis is left untreated, the harder it is to treat.” He noted how prompt, sustained intervention makes an enormous difference in a person’s trajectory toward recovery and stability.
Gunaratne said it was vital to move fast. He shed light on an important intervention window that can prevent people from becoming long-term disabled or homeless. He stated, “We have a window of opportunity to get in early and change the trajectory of someone’s life so they don’t fall down the cascade into permanent disability or into homelessness or the prison system.”
This mindset is in alignment with that of Professor McGorry. He knows that the millions of Americans battling mental health today require strong safeguards to keep them from losing their independence and dignity that come with mental health support. “For this group of people to have a quality of life, they need access to a broad range of supports,” he noted.
