Thousands of PTSD sufferers missing out on treatment: Deakin researchers

Health economists, Associate Professor Cathrine Mihalopoulos and senior research fellow Anne Magnus, from Deakin’s Centre for Population Health Research within the School of Health and Social Development, said the problem was even greater when those who did not even seek any treatment in the first place were taken into account.

Associate Professor Mihalopoulos, who leads Australia’s first research group dedicated to the economics of mental health, said that on the basis of the most recent Australian national mental health survey, 824,000 Australians in 2015 would or could have been diagnosed with PTSD.

“Of that number, only about 367,000 were estimated to have sought help for their mental health and, of those who did, about one-third, or 121,000, did not receive evidence-based care,” Associate Professor Mihalopoulos said.

She said the statistics, based on recent research led by Associate Professor Mihalopoulos and Ms Magnus, were particularly concerning given effective PTSD treatment was cost-effective and would have huge benefits for individuals, their families and the wider community.

“The problem of inadequate treatment or no treatment is immense and touches the lives of many thousands of Australians, with the condition potentially generating massive costs in drug and alcohol use, family disruption and lost productivity,” Associate Professor Mihalopoulos said.

The research findings are highlighted in Australia 21’s Trauma-related stress in Australia: Essays by leading thinkers and researchers.

In their original research project called, Is implementation of the 2013 Australian treatment guidelines for posttraumatic stress disorder cost-effective compared to current practice, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Associate Professor Mihalopoulos and Ms Magnus assessed the cost-effectiveness, affordability and acceptability of the new Australian clinical guidelines on PTSD, developed in 2013.

Their findings provide economic evidence for the benefits of adopting the evidence-based, recommended treatments within the guidelines.

Ms Magnus said that of the many different types of therapy available, the evidence was clear, Trauma-focussed cognitive-behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) was the most successful and cost-effective.

“If an adult receives this therapy, their risk of having PTSD after treatment is halved. If a child receives it, their risk of having PTSD after treatment is only 14 per cent,” she said.

“However, this treatment can be confronting and it can be hard for patients to find practitioners who can deliver the treatment skilfully. People need to be exposed gradually and carefully to their traumatic memory, so they can process the experience and become desensitised.”

Enabling the public to benefit from these findings will require a concerted effort from organisations such as the Australian Centre of Post Traumatic Mental Health, which funded the research, and other mental health advocates and policy makers.

“It will require upskilling therapists and supervisors so they can provide appropriate trauma-focussed CBT, and encouraging therapists and patients to overcome their reluctance to take this option,” Ms Magnus said.

People seeking support for mental health conditions can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, or contact the Suicide Call Back Service at www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au.

Read more: Trauma related stress in Australia. Essays by leading Australian thinkers and researchers. This essay collection is a collaboration between Australian21 and FearLess.