Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP)

If you are experiencing issues or concerns about your mental wellbeing, you might be eligible for a mental health care plan which can help you get appropriate support and treatment.

What is a mental health care plan?

A mental health care plan is a plan your doctor writes with you about treating a mental health condition. It helps you to access eligible allied health professionals like psychologists, social workers or occupational therapists who can help you to get better and live well.

A mental health care plan can be useful for people with minor mental health conditions or very serious conditions, short-term concerns or long-term illnesses. You don’t already have to be diagnosed with a mental health condition to talk to your doctor about making a mental health care plan.

How can a mental health care plan help me?

A mental health care plan can help you in a number of ways. Creating a mental health care plan gives you and your doctor the opportunity to formally outline how you’ve been feeling, what your needs are and what results you would like. It also gives your doctor an opportunity to refer you on to an appropriate treatment or support service, including specialists who will work with you to improve your mental health.

Having a mental health care plan makes appointments with eligible allied health professionals more affordable. If you have a mental health care plan, you are entitled to a Medicare rebate on up to 10 individual sessions or group appointments with a psychologist, social worker or occupational therapist in a calendar year. After 6 sessions, you will return to your doctor to revisit how your treatment is going, and then if needed, can access the next 4 sessions.

How do I know if a mental health care plan is for me?

Signs that you are experiencing a mental health condition can be very varied. A mental health condition might feel very overwhelming, or it might present as a subtler feeling that something is wrong. If you’ve been experiencing a mental health condition for a long time, the symptoms might just feel like ‘normal life’, even if you suspect that other people might feel calmer, happier or less stressed.

Signs that it’s time to talk to someone about your mental health include:

• you’ve been feeling worried, sad, down, angry, depressed, numb or generally ‘not yourself’ for two weeks or more
• the way you’re feeling is affecting your ability to cope at work, school or in your relationships.

Your mental health might have reached a ‘crisis’ point where symptoms are so bad you can’t ignore them, but you don’t have to wait for your symptoms to become this serious before you see your doctor. If you think something is not right, it’s always worth talking to your doctor about it.

How do I get a mental health care plan?