Psychological Support Services (PSS)

PSS continues to experience high levels of demand and currently has limited capacity for suicide prevention and child referrals. PSS will have greater capacity to accept all eligible referrals from 1 July 2024.

Psychological Support Services (PSS) provides free access to short-term psychological therapy either face-to-face or via telehealth. PSS is for people experiencing mild to moderate mental health concerns who live in the Central and Eastern Sydney region and are experiencing financial hardship or low income, and who may not be able to access support through Medicare subsidised psychological services.

Under this program, CESPHN commissions Project 54 which reduces barriers to accessing psychological support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by providing outreached-based, culturally appropriate, and sensitive support in locations across the region including La Perouse, Glebe and Sutherland LGA.

Eligibility

Psychological Support Services is for people who:

• Live within the Central and Eastern Sydney region. Find your local PHN.
• Have a diagnosable mild to moderate mental health concern.
• May benefit from short-term treatment.
• Are unable to access other services including the Better Access Initiative (Medicare subsidised psychological services) due to financial hardship or low income (Individual income below $55,000 or family income below $130,000).
• For Project 54, the service is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who live within the CESPHN region.

A GP Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) forms part of accessing this service. This can be added to the online Service referral form and Healthlink referral form (Healthlink ID: CESPHNMH) templates. Both referral form pathways are compliant with the billing requirements for a GP MHTP.

In order to improve access to the program for underserviced or hard to reach groups, Non-Medical Practitioner (NMP) referrals are also accepted. NMP referrals allow Mental Health Practitioners (MHP) to carry out up to three sessions prior to obtaining a MHTP. A non-medical practitioner can include; counsellors, community and support workers, and peer support workers. NMP referrals are acceptable for the following underserviced or hard to reach groups:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• Children and Young People (0-25 years of age).
• Individuals experiencing Perinatal Depression.
• Individuals from Multicultural backgrounds.
• LGBTIQ community.

Referral Forms

Please do not open the Best Practice or Medical Director file before uploading into your clinical software.

Non-medical practitioners can refer individuals to PSS for an assessment (up to three sessions) with a PSS registered mental health professional prior to the development of a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan. For sessions to continue after the provisional session(s) have been completed, the individual will need to see their GP for a PSS referral and Mental Health Treatment Plan before additional sessions are approved.

Non-medical practitioners can refer to PSS using the online referral form.

	Best Practice	Medical Director	Online
PSS Initial Referral and Mental Health Treatment Plan
PSS Review Referral and Mental Health Treatment Plan

To download the instruction manual to import Best Practice (BP) forms, click here.

To download the instruction manual to import Medical Director (MD) forms, click here.

To become a PSS provider, please contact the Service Providers above.

For any referral queries, contact CESPHN Mental Health team:

Ph. – 1300 170 554.

Email – mentalhealth@cesphn.com.au

Click here to access the registered PSS providers on the CESPHN Service Directory.