Psychological services in five South-west Queensland communities--supply and demand.

Introduction: This research gathered information in 2004 about psychological services provided to five rural communities located in South-west Queensland, Australia. Specifically, the aims of the project were to: (i) undertake an audit of existing psychological services; and (ii) determine the need for psychological services as perceived by providers of current services.

Methods: Potential providers of psychological services were contacted to confirm the nature and extent of their provision of psychological support to target communities. Thirty organisations met the definition of service providers offering assessment or intervention by qualified and/or experienced persons. Data were collected by semi-structured telephone interviews with 44 employees of the service providers.

Results: The one main publicly-funded provider of services to the region offered limited services to the communities. Although some counselling was provided by social workers attached to the allied health program, for patients to be supported by the mental health sector of this service, they must have had moderate to severe mental illness. Regular, reliable and accessible psychological support for other conditions was limited largely to services provided by non-government organisations (NGOs) which are often constrained by continuity of funds. Counselling for alcohol and drug misuse, women's issues, sexual abuse, and crisis support were the most commonly identified unmet needs across the target communities. Difficulties in attracting experienced personnel to work in rural communities were reported. This was exacerbated by lack of job security brought about by short term funding to the NGOs. In general, unqualified counsellors were recognised as providing valuable services.

Conclusions: There are limited psychological support services provided to these South-west Queensland communities. For available services, there are strict criteria for entry, limited accessibility and availability or lack of continuity owing to short-term funding. There are a number of unmet psychological needs, with abuse being the most widely identified. Any withdrawal of existing psychological services is perceived by current service providers as being potentially devastating.