mental health workforce

General Practitioner 

(Gp)

A general practitioner (GP) is a medical doctor who treats acute and crhonic illness and provides preventative care and health education to patients. A general practitioner manages types of illness that present in an undifferentiated way at an early stage of development, which may require urgent intervention. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues. Their roles include:

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• The care of chronic health problems;

• The treatment of acute non-life-threatening diseases

• The early detection of disease

• Referral to specialised care 

• Health education

• Immunisation

• Low-complexity surgical procedures.

Psychiatry

A psychiatrist is the medical professional devoted to the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders. Psychiatrists use the biomedical model to:

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• Conducting psychiatric assessments

• Counselling consumers

• Prescription of medication,

• Ongoing therapeutic drug monitoring 

• Psychotherapy and other therapeutic communication techniques. 

Psychological therapists provide consultation services and advice relation to the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of behaviour and mental processes. Psychological therapists may work with individuals, couples, families or groups in a variety of settings including private practices, hospitals, mental health organisations, schools and businesses.​

Psychological Therapists

Mental Health Nurses

Mental health nursing is the specialty of nursing that cares for people with mental illness or mental distress. Nurses in this area receive training in:

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• Psychological therapies

• Building a therapeutic alliance

• Dealing with challenging behaviour 

• The administration of psychiatric medication.

• Providing care for patients who have psychiatric disorders, medical mental conditions and substance abuse problems.

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Case management

A case manager links a mental health consumer with the support services they require to manage their mental health and prevent relapse. In the coordination of a variety of community services, a case manager:

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• Undertakes individualised assessment & Screening.

• Monitors a consumer's engagement with services

• Advocates for a consumer 

• Provides support for the families and friends of these people.

• Client screening

• Stratification of risk

• Care coordination & Planning

• Monitoring, transitioning and evaluation. 

Support Coordination

Support coordination is a service to ensure that people with severe and persistent mental health have the necessary support network and services wrapped around them to identify and meet their needs. A support facilitator:

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• Conducts care coordination

• Is the central point of contact

• Monitors a consumers support network

• Conducts needs assessments

• Organises case conferences with other providers & agencies to create collaborative action plans

A counsellor is a a person trained to give guidance on personal or psychological problems. They work on an interpersonal relationship between the client and the counsellor which helps them develop a better understanding about themselves and then solve their problems. They explore and resolve issues that are interpersonal, intrapsychic or personal in nature.

Counsellors

The Consumer Workforce

The Consumer Workforce are paid workers with the lived experience of mental health. They include a number of positions including consumer consultants, peer support workers, peer wellness coaches & specialists, consumer representatives, consumer researchers & academics, consumer liaison workers, consumer advocates, consumer educators as well as

wellness & recovery coaching