Psychology Outcomes is the first Precision Mental Healthcare Service in Australia
“Music industry faces mental health ‘crisis’ as COVID-19 takes toll on vulnerable workers” reads a 2021 headline from The ABC. “‘Startling Findings’ Uncovered In Music Industry Wellbeing Survey” continued the thread in 2022 as published by The Music citing research from the first-ever music industry mental health and wellbeing survey conducted by Support Act.
That research reported statistics such as 66% of participants reported high to very high levels of psychological distress, 59% of participants had experiences suicidal thoughts at a staggering 4.5 times the proportion of the general population, and 35% reported having a current mental health condition.
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Whilst these findings are specific to the music industry focused, mental health is not an industry isolated issue within Australia. Too many people are on waitlists for mental health support, while many find that their first experience with a psychologist isn’t the right fit leading to a trial-and-error approach to finding the right psychologist for them. This leads to people feeling less hopeful that there is effective support that will make them feel happier and confident in their lives.
On the Geelong front, psychologist Dr Nathan Castle is trying to solve this issue through his practice, Psychology Outcomes. Psychology Outcomes is the first Precision Mental Healthcare Service in Australia and the first clinic to be able to scientifically find the most effective psychologist for every client that calls.
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Scientific matching, as it is now called, has been tried and failed for 50 years. Psychology Outcomes partnered with an innovative tech company, Outcome Referrals, to bring scientific matching to Australia in 2021. Since that time, Psychology Outcomes has not only published their results in articles to demonstrate the effectiveness but also published the clinic results on the front page of their website so clients interested in seeking support can review them first before booking a session.
This strategy has led clients to call Psychology Outcomes directly and led them to feel more confident that they will get a psychologist who is committed to helping them achieve the best results.
A recent recipient of the TAC Value-based Healthcare Innovation Grant, Psychology Outcomes is changing the face of health care and finding the right psychologist for the right client every time.
This method is attracting psychology clinics across Australia to join the Precision Mental Health Network in an attempt to improve recovery from mental health nationally. Innovative clinics such as Lawson Clinical Psychology, Launch Psychology, ACT of Living, Solid Rock Psychology, Rhythm Psychology, Strength Psychology and Goals Psychology have joined the network in an effort to get better results for clients struggling with mental health issues. Through scientific matching, the network aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of private psychology organisations treating chronic pain, trauma and mental health.
This move to turn the traditional mental health model on its head comes from the belief that therapy can be done better. Too many Australians have experienced seeing a psychologist that simply wasn’t the right fit and know they could have gotten better results.
Through the roll out of Precision Mental Health Network, this new scientific matching method allows Psychology Outcomes to create a positive impact to Geelong locals, whilst also influencing highly effective treatments to each state to help clients more than ever.
Dr Castle notes that research has shown this innovative scientific matching approach doubles the results of mental health treatment. The best part is that clients don’t have to do anything different and psychologists don’t need to do anything different either. Asking for more from psychologists is unlikely to lead to better treatment results across Australia as they are often already overworked and, in some cases, burnt out.
It is actually more simple to identify which clients psychologists are most effective with and match clients to them. Unsurprisingly, this leads to better care, more confident clients and more fulfilled psychologists. Importantly, it allows for the reduction of the trial and error of finding the right psychologist, in turn enabling people to feel better faster, building confidence to manage their own mental health and reducing the length of costly ongoing care.
Within Psychology Outcomes alone, scientific matching is seeing amazing results. With a team of seven psychologists strong and specialising in trauma, anxiety, depression, emotional difficulties, OCD, panic attacks and substance use, the clinic is seeing an overall client reliable improvement outcome of 76%. These results are the type of outcomes that can change clients lives and family as well as friends notice.
Dr Castle comments, “As a Geelong local, business owner and clinical psychologist, I’ve seen the strain that mental health care has on everyday Australians. That’s why, in 2020 we opened Psychology Outcomes with the belief that targeting depression, anxiety, panic attacks and OCD in adults needs to be more effective so that clients can get back to their lives.
“We have improved our results year after year since we started because we are committed to thinking outside of the box as well as keeping the client outcomes front of mind. We publish our results every two years and are currently in the top 30% of effective psychology clinics internationally.”
To learn more about Psychology Outcomes and the Precision Mental Health Network or to book an appointment, head to their website at https://www.psychologyoutcomes.com/.
