Psychiatric System Issues

I know I probably harp on about this a bit too much, but so much of the money the system seems to be crying out for could be recovered/acquired by simply insuring that patients are directed to the right type of therapist from the very beginning.

I mean, how much money and resources are being wasted, keeping patients in the "care" of a therapist who is never going to do anything for the patient's actual problem? Money & time down the drain. And the therapists are incentivized by the government to keep this sort of worthless treatment up (or, at least they were 13 years ago).

That's all money and time that isn't been spent on managing the 'more expensive' patients, like the 2 characters who made headlines last week, so the system tasked with holding them becomes lax and faulty - directly leading to incidents like this.

I'm sure it's a widespread issue, not just me. It seems like there are often people right here on these forums asking questions like: "Where can I find a therapist who will sort of this sort of problem for me?" Some of them even seem fortunate enough to know the official title of the type of therapist their after (although who knows if their misinformed about it or not). And often these posts come with stories of them wasting plenty of time and money on therapists who, unbeknownst to them, were the completely wrong type of therapist to see for their problem.

I think that if the government set up some sort of "Information kiosk"-type service, to refer each patient directly to the type of therapist they need; and if they stopped incentivizing therapists to administer useless treatment ad-nauseum, then that would really free up the system to give a lot more time and resources to the "high needs" patients who need them.

I'm not saying that the patients referred to in the article are seeing the wrong types of therapist. Although the article's suggestions that patients aren't being helped and are simply masking their symptoms certainly raises the question. After all, why would you avoid engaging with someone who can genuinely and agreeably help with whatever problem is distressing you?

My main point is that (other) patients tied up with the wrong sort of therapist is a massive drain on the overall system, and that this drain has obvious knock-on effects. leading to the sorts of incidents we saw last week.

Agree with you @chibam

Especially: "After all, why would you avoid engaging with someone who can genuinely and agreeably help with whatever problem is distressing you?"

Sounds very logical to me.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/these-are-preventable-deaths-40-victorians-suing-hospitals-over-the-loss-of-their-loved-ones-20260212-p5o1we.html?utm_content=INTRO&promote_channel=edmail&utm_campaign=am-theage&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=2026-02-23&mbnr=MzAxNTQ3MTc=&instance=2026-02-23-07-11-AEDT

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@Appleblossom wrote:

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/these-are-preventable-deaths-40-victorians-suing-hospitals-over-the-loss-of-their-loved-ones-20260212-p5o1we.html?utm_content=INTRO&promote_channel=edmail&utm_campaign=am-theage&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=2026-02-23&mbnr=MzAxNTQ3MTc=&instance=2026-02-23-07-11-AEDT

Behind a paywall, unfortunately. I can't see it.

Edit: Nevermind. You can grab it if your very quick at copy-pasting it into a Word document before the paywall comes up. 😁😋

IMHO, this article just serves to prove my previous point. Regarding the patient, Richard, who was discussed in the early part of the article, his problems were that his wife left him, and that he got fired. So what he really needed was for someone to set him up with a new romantic partner (assuming this was appropriate with regard to his values), and to give him a new job. And yet they sent him to a psychiatrist??!?

From my understanding, psychiatrists never help patients with these sorts of matters. (My psychiatrist certainly did didly squat in terms of fixing these issues for me!) They exclusively percieve patients in terms of brain malfunctions, and are only interested in treating patients by monkeying around with how their brains work!

Richard clearly needed to be sent to a differant type of therapist! One who sets their lonely patients up with compatable romantic matches; and one who gives their unemployed patients fulfilling jobs!

Now, yes, it's entirely possible that the newspaper heavily condensed Richard's story to fit in the article, and perhaps left out the fact that maybe Richard had some actual brain problems that would justify him seeing a psychiatrist.

But taking the article as written, this seems like a woeful misdirection of Richard's case.

These are exactly the sort of situations that show how we need to manage the mental health system in an entirely differant way, and how we need a drastic shift away from our currant over-reliance on traditional therapists.

My partner's housemate is currently there after an acute psychotic episode. The last time this happened she was discharged the next day and right back to throwing out her meds and talking to angels.

They did not give her adequate support and follow up. So this time they made sure they knew that she was given inadequate care and that she probably needs a diagnosis review. They keep trying to find reasons that she's actually fine and she can be thrown out.

Like, my partner and their other housemate have agreed she needs to move out. She has made the household incredibly unsafe over time because of her unwillingness to get help causing her to be a hostile presence. They cannot let her go without support, she will be homeless. She has no friends left. No family. She has alienated everyone. And yet they just want to move her on. It's disgusting. She needs actual professional support. She deserves dignity, even when she's acting really shitty.

It is like the therapist want you to be sick so you return. i had to study how the brain works so i can be better. I feel i know more than my dr of psychiatrist.

@Maggie15 Yes, that is very similar to the lifelong approach I have taken. I wasn't even deliberate about it when I was younger, but nowadays, I am.

Yes, it would be great if there was genuine help and care when we or family members reach out.

@GalaxyOwl I am really sorry you are actually dealing with that hospital through your sister.

I guess I am motivated by reality checking some of the current narratives, that assert there is help out there and all we have to do is reach out. Reaching out in vulnerability requires that the people we contact with can actually connect with human doing the reaching.

I have 2 siblings who were harmed and not helped, so I am trying to keep Sane alerted to some of the current situations.

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@GalaxyOwl wrote:

Like, my partner and their other housemate have agreed she needs to move out. She has made the household incredibly unsafe over time because of her unwillingness to get help causing her to be a hostile presence. They cannot let her go without support, she will be homeless. She has no friends left. No family. She has alienated everyone. And yet they just want to move her on. It's disgusting. She needs actual professional support. She deserves dignity, even when she's acting really shitty.

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Am I right in suspecting that the therapists haven't made any attempts whatsoever to set this woman up with new housemates, who are more aligned with her mindset?

I mean, this is really goes to the core of what's wrong with the mental health system, because who on earth is better positioned to set a person who "talks to angels" and is inclined to act "unsafe" up with people just like herself? I mean, her kindred spirits must certainly have encountered the mental health system! If you can't find them in it's pool of patients, you won't find them anywhere!

There is nobody better suited to help this woman find her true home, and yet I suspect that the therapists refuse to perform this essential service!

Their the only ones who can do it, and they won't do it! So the system is set up so that this poor woman will never get the help she needs! It's design all but guarantees there is no hope for her.

Makes me wonder why any of us should bother at all.

There was an inquiry into loneliness by the NSW government over the last couple years. I wish they could've heard more stories like this to see just how woeful the mental health system is with dealing with loneliness (a key cause of suicidalness and other 'mental illnesses'); and why a new system is desperately needed to replace it.