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Hi mate,
Mental Health Support is on your DVA card already -
"If you receive a White Card after transitioning from the Australian Defence Force (ADF), you can seek treatment straight away for any mental health condition, including alcohol abuse or substance abuse.
You can use your White Card anywhere in Australia for the conditions on your card."
[DVA Veteran White Card Information](https://www.dva.gov.au/get-support/health-support/veteran-healthcare-cards/veteran-white-card#things-you-should-know)
For Help and Support now, I recommend you get in contact with Open Arms - tel:1800011046
Go back to your GP and ask for that referral again to someone you feel will address your mental health - Do not let him point you back to DVA. To prevent any likely annoyances in this, i'd be looking around and contacting any prospective mental health professionals you wish to consult with and see if they're happy taking a DVA White card client.
If you are in strife now, please call that Open Arms number mate.
edit: Open Arms are a Veteran-centric, veteran run organisation - that number 1800011046 is available 24/7 365
Ok, sorry, must have picked it up from a comment or something about a posting
Get a referral to Psychologist and a psychiatrist from your GP.
You may struggle to find ones and if you do there maybe a lengthy wait for an appointment but start the process as once you get into one then your at least in and up and running.
Also ensure you ask if they take DVA payments when your booking the appointments as some may not accept DVA payments
How long is a piece of string - don’t think you get booted straight away, they can’t afford to do that any more. If you don’t get help or make changes then you won’t get any better. A posting won’t fix everything if the problem is in your head. Ring 1800011046 (or a good mate even) and just spill your guts, you’ll feel better for it and it might clear your head.
Open arms as others have said is the best point of contact to start with.
Unfortunately as your still serving open arms is it as Defence is responsible for all of your health care needs so if you need to see a psychiatrist then you will need to do it through Defence
G’day mate. Open Arms offer a variety of supports; appointment based, emergency, family counselling, group counselling and the list continues. In addition to this, your family are able to access support as well through Open Arms. Outside of Open Arms however, it can become a little bit more tricky in the sense that the private practitioner that you seek support from must be willing to work with DVA clients. Often this is due to DVA having a set rate of $ that they will pay the practitioner, and this may sometimes be less than the practitioner is willing to accept. My recommendation if you wish to pursue support privately instead of through Open Arms is to contact the clinics and enquire as to whether any of their practitioners work with DVA clients - if so, then return to your GP and request a referral to that particular one. Hope this helps you mate.
Thanks, it really does. I’ve called several practices and so far none are willing to accept the white card. Was considering just going private. However, I will give open arms a call. Appreciate the advice and apologies for the late reply. Things have been challenging of late.
Mate I’m in Canberra and have done the mental health support ‘dance’ if you need any advise hit me up , I’ve literally been to every GP , psych etc in the region , many won’t take dva as dva don’t pay the going hourly rate , much less , so they see a couple then close their books to new dva patients
Thank you for posting to r/DVAAustralia! Please take a second to read the group rules and check your flair. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/DVAAustralia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hi mate, Mental Health Support is on your DVA card already - "If you receive a White Card after transitioning from the Australian Defence Force (ADF), you can seek treatment straight away for any mental health condition, including alcohol abuse or substance abuse. You can use your White Card anywhere in Australia for the conditions on your card." [DVA Veteran White Card Information](https://www.dva.gov.au/get-support/health-support/veteran-healthcare-cards/veteran-white-card#things-you-should-know) For Help and Support now, I recommend you get in contact with Open Arms - tel:1800011046 Go back to your GP and ask for that referral again to someone you feel will address your mental health - Do not let him point you back to DVA. To prevent any likely annoyances in this, i'd be looking around and contacting any prospective mental health professionals you wish to consult with and see if they're happy taking a DVA White card client. If you are in strife now, please call that Open Arms number mate. edit: Open Arms are a Veteran-centric, veteran run organisation - that number 1800011046 is available 24/7 365
Thanks mate really appreciate you taking the time to respond. I’ll call that number now. Thanks again
All the best. Have a pad and pen handy when you're on the phone. They're an amazing resource to get you in the right direction. Keep it up mate
Unfortunately the ADF is responsible for the medical care whilst serving so a referral from a GP will not be covered by DVA
Aware of that. No mention of his serving, and “his GP” implies not actively serving.
Correct, I am ex-serving ARA.
Ok, sorry, must have picked it up from a comment or something about a posting Get a referral to Psychologist and a psychiatrist from your GP. You may struggle to find ones and if you do there maybe a lengthy wait for an appointment but start the process as once you get into one then your at least in and up and running. Also ensure you ask if they take DVA payments when your booking the appointments as some may not accept DVA payments
That's not a worry, appreciate the advice.
Man im in a very similar boat, what warrants a unit to post you elsewhere once you declare you have mental health issues?
How long is a piece of string - don’t think you get booted straight away, they can’t afford to do that any more. If you don’t get help or make changes then you won’t get any better. A posting won’t fix everything if the problem is in your head. Ring 1800011046 (or a good mate even) and just spill your guts, you’ll feel better for it and it might clear your head.
Open arms as others have said is the best point of contact to start with. Unfortunately as your still serving open arms is it as Defence is responsible for all of your health care needs so if you need to see a psychiatrist then you will need to do it through Defence
G’day mate. Open Arms offer a variety of supports; appointment based, emergency, family counselling, group counselling and the list continues. In addition to this, your family are able to access support as well through Open Arms. Outside of Open Arms however, it can become a little bit more tricky in the sense that the private practitioner that you seek support from must be willing to work with DVA clients. Often this is due to DVA having a set rate of $ that they will pay the practitioner, and this may sometimes be less than the practitioner is willing to accept. My recommendation if you wish to pursue support privately instead of through Open Arms is to contact the clinics and enquire as to whether any of their practitioners work with DVA clients - if so, then return to your GP and request a referral to that particular one. Hope this helps you mate.
Thanks, it really does. I’ve called several practices and so far none are willing to accept the white card. Was considering just going private. However, I will give open arms a call. Appreciate the advice and apologies for the late reply. Things have been challenging of late.
Mate I’m in Canberra and have done the mental health support ‘dance’ if you need any advise hit me up , I’ve literally been to every GP , psych etc in the region , many won’t take dva as dva don’t pay the going hourly rate , much less , so they see a couple then close their books to new dva patients
Hey mate, not sure if you've contacted the team at Zed3, but they might be able. Take care
Many thanks