Study finds benefits of multidisciplinary networks

The wellbeing of Australia’s busy mental health workforce improves when they formally connect through place-based peer support networks, according to a new study.
 
New research from the Mental Health Professionals’ Network (MHPN) and Latrobe University reveals the significant benefits of multidisciplinary networking and peer support for mental health practitioners.
 
Of the 735 mental health professionals in the study, 88% of those who attended network meetings reported feeling more confident in their work, 97% had an improved understanding of the unique contributions of other health professionals, and 96% felt it improved the care they provide.
 
Dr Cathy Andronis, Chair of RACGP Specific Interests Psychological Medicine, said the research confirms the benefits of peer supervision and reflective practice.
 
‘MHPN provides opportunities for multidisciplinary team-based learning so that practitioners can collaborate and understand how to work together better,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘GPs however also need more peer support from each other in order to practice and improve our own unique counselling skills.
 
‘GPs provide the most mental health care in Australia, so we need to be more enabled to support each other in our unique capacity and to feel more empowered, safe and confident doing this stressful work. It’s critical to preventing GP burnout.’ 
 
MHPN CEO Dr Daisy Brooke said place-based communities have remained a key strength of the program, with groups meeting over many years in all states and territories.
 
‘For 15 years, thousands of practitioners across the country have engaged in the program annually, confirming its value and importance in supporting the mental health workforce,’ she said.
 
Dr Andronis also highlights the importance of lifelong training and peer supervision and advocates for GPs to have better access to these programs.
 
‘Peer learning and support has been mandatory CPD for most mental health provider disciplines including psychologists and psychiatrists, so it is disappointing that in the 21st century most GPs are still missing out on this essential opportunity to be supported by their colleagues,’ she said.
 
‘In the private world of regular general practice, GPs have to independently find groups to access, they need to pay for peer support, and this is often prohibitively expensive in our current financial position where the MBS penalises GPs who provide necessarily long but underfunded mental health consultations to distressed patients.
 
‘It is essential when providing psychological therapy to maintain high-quality engagement and rapport between the practitioner and the patient in a safe, trusting environment as the relationship is a critical part of the success of therapy.’

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