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<\/p>\nExperts are warning younger children are presenting with increasingly complex mental health needs as a new report predicts a nationwide shortfall of child and adolescent psychiatrists.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Australia is projected to be short at least 230 full-time child psychiatrists in two years, with WA recording one of the country’s biggest shortfalls.<\/p>\n
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) report examined the child and adolescent psychiatry workforce and its current challenges.<\/p>\n
The report projects by 2028, WA will be short 37 full time child and adolescent psychiatrists, one of the largest gaps in the country behind New South Wales and Victoria.<\/p>\n
Perth woman Rachael Burns was 16 and already in crisis while experiencing an eating disorder before she received support from WA’s mental health system, an experience she says left her feeling “broken”.<\/p>\n
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Rachael Burns says she could not access mental health support until she became seriously unwell.\u00a0 (ABC News: Mya Kordic)<\/p>\n
“Services and supports have kept me alive at times that have also completely changed who I am as a person, have completely changed the way I view myself and my belonging within the world,” she said.<\/p>\n
Several years later, Miss Burns now works as a lived experience advocate.<\/p>\n
She said it was unfortunate she was not able to get help until she was physically unwell.<\/p>\n
Children struggling to access mental health support<\/a><\/p>\n Demand has soared for youth mental health services during the pandemic,\u00a0but a shortage of psychologists in regional areas means many young people are going without treatment.<\/p>\n “By the time I got any support, I was deep, deep, deep within behaviours that fuelled my eating disorder and … I’d kind of lost my identity by the point that I even received any care,” she said.<\/p>\n Miss Burns said for those who have navigated mental health systems, the RANZCP report was not surprising.<\/p>\n She said while psychiatry would not be appropriate for everyone, it was an important access point for young people.<\/p>\n “The reality is that a lot of referrals depend on having a psychiatrist, a lot of acceptance letters and a lot of \u2026 just not being redirected to a different service, depend on having a psychiatrist as an access point,” she said.<\/p>\n Early intervention missed<\/p>\n RANZCP Chair of the Faculty of Child and Adult Psychiatrists, Professor Valsamma Eapen, said the report highlighted workforce gaps, which have impacted how many children can receive psychiatric support.<\/p>\n “Young people’s mental health needs and demands are ever-increasing, but our workforce is not keeping pace with that and that gap is going to only increase unless we do something very strategic,” she said.<\/p>\n Professor Eapen said she often heard people were only receiving support from a psychiatrist when they had already reached crisis point.<\/p>\n “Most of the child psychiatrists, if you ask them, would say that 85 per cent of their workload is looking after the acute, severe illness,” she said.<\/p>\n Valsamma Eapen is a child and adolescent psychiatry expert, and says more must be done to address the shortfall of practitioners.\u00a0 (ABC News: Mya Kordic)<\/p>\n “That leaves very little by way of time to do the prevention, early intervention type of work that we ought to do.”<\/p>\n Professor Eapen said psychiatrists’ energy should also be channelled into making a “lifetime difference” for the trajectory of children under 12.<\/p>\n If you need someone to talk to, call:<\/p>\n “The complexity is increasing and they are presenting at a much younger age,” she said.<\/p>\n “We are seeing what we would have seen in [ages] 14, 15, ten years ago, we are now seeing that complexity in 10 and 11-year-olds.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Professor Eapen said there was a gap between increasing demand and the numbers of established staff in the system, coupled with a “significantly under-resourced” training pipeline.<\/p>\n The report said that between 2020 and 2024, just 11 doctors started training to become a child and adolescent psychiatrist in WA, the lowest intake of any mainland state.<\/p>\n Valsamma Eapen says the psychiatric needs of children under 12 are becoming increasingly complex.\u00a0 (ABC News: Mya Kordic)<\/p>\n The report made a number of recommendations, including strengthening the training pipeline and improving planning infrastructure for child and adolescent psychiatrists.<\/p>\n Professor Eapen said it was crucial to create more training positions to bolster the existing workforce.\u00a0<\/p>\n Federal investment<\/p>\n In a statement, a federal government spokesperson said the government was reforming the mental health system and addressing gaps in care for young Australians.<\/p>\n “Over $2.8 billion dollars is currently invested from 2025-26 to 2028-29 to support the mental health and wellbeing of children, young people and their families,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n They also highlighted a $139 million investment in the Specialist Training Program, through RANZCP, to support up to 205 full-time equivalent psychiatry training posts each year.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/fdd06192de2799ea82987fcaaf8c89f1.jpeg\")
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