Psychological Therapy Services in Residential Aged Care Facilities

⁠⁠⁠The required service involves mental health professionals delivering evidence-based psychological therapies to residents identified as having mild to moderate mental health needs. The mental health professionals may also provide guidance to staff of each RACF to build their capacity to assist with better identification and referral of these residents.

Access to this service requires a diagnosis of a mental illness, or an assessment of being 'at risk' of mental illness. Referrals are made to the service by either the resident's GP or registered nurse based at the participating RACF. The service is intended to complement and integrate with, rather than substitute existing services, e.g. for dementia and severe and complex psychiatric problems. A pilot of this service commenced in February 2019, for residents in Uniting Springwood and Uniting Hawkesbury Richmond RACFs.

Service Requirements
Target population
The service primarily targets RACF residents at risk of or with a diagnosed mild to moderate mental illness. However, residents with severe mental illness who are not more appropriately managed by a State or Territory Government Older Persons Mental Health Service, and who would benefit from psychological therapy are not excluded.

The 'at risk' group is defined as individuals who are experiencing early symptoms and are assessed as at risk of developing a diagnosable mental illness over the following 12 months if they do not receive appropriate and timely services.

There are a number of sub-groups of residents who may benefit from the service. This includes:

• Residents with significant transition issues and experiencing adjustment disorders or abnormal symptoms of grief and loss, for whom early treatment may avert descent into a more serious mood disorder. This group does need to be differentiated from residents who are exhibiting normal sadness and/or transition issues
• Residents with mild to moderate anxiety and/or depression - this is expected to be the largest group requiring services
• Residents with past history of mental illness for which they received services before being admitted which could not be continued
• Residents who may have experienced elder abuse or past or recent trauma
• Residents who, in addition to their mental illness, have a level of comorbid cognitive decline and/or dementia
• Residents from diverse and vulnerable communities, including Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer (LBGTIQ), or Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) groups, for whom there may be additional barriers to diagnosis and care.