Mind Games

After years of neglect the federal government has shovelled billions of dollars into the mental healthcare system — but the debate on how best to spend it has just begun.

In a special four-part investigation in conjunction with Inside Story, health journalist and Croakey blogger Melissa Sweet surveys the long and often bitter road towards real reform.

The long road travelled on mental health reform
Crikey surveys the long and bitter road towards reform. Progress has been made but elements of the budget such as accommodation and employment initiatives are shunned.
 

The psychological backlash against Hickie and McGorry
It’s not only psychologists at war over mental health reform — considerable vitriol is also being directed at the country’s most prominent psychiatrists, Ian Hickie and Pat McGorry.
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Better Access for some, but reforms put others offside
Patrick McGorry and Ian Hickie may be considered revolutionaries by some, their headspace initiative and radical system reforms will come at a cost to some patients.
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What are the lessons from the mental health minefield?
What are the lessons learned on the hard road towards mental health reform? And amid all the debate, what does the future hold?
 

*More mental illness coverage on Crikey’s health blog Croakey, including its funding declaration here