More than a third of young people presenting to headspace centres would benefit from a clinical neuropsychological assessment (CNA) yet CNA is not available in most headspace centres, research from Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, has found.
A clinical neuropsychological assessment measures a person’s cognitive functioning (e.g., memory, attention, decision-making, problem-solving, language and learning ability) and can help mental health service providers make a precise or clarified diagnosis.
Orygen’s Dr Kelly Allott, who led the study, said by having this information service providers were able to provide their clients with more appropriate treatments and therapies based on their clients’ cognitive strengths and difficulties.
Dr Allott and colleagues surveyed 532 service providers across 103 headspace and headspace Youth Early Psychosis Program (hYEPP) centres Australia-wide as part of the study.
“Respondents estimated that only 12% of the young people who would benefit from a clinical neuropsychological assessment had one completed; the main reason for that is that it’s not readily available,” Dr Allott said.
“This highlights a substantial gap in service for headspace clients and suggests there is a large number of young people seeking mental health care who do not receive holistic and timely assessment, which increases the risk of inappropriate or inadequate treatment.”
“This gap in service is a missed opportunity for early intervention, particularly given that headspace is accessible to young people Australia-wide.”
Dr Allott said a number of factors were likely contributing to poor access to clinical neuropsychological assessments, including the availability of psychologists with this skill set, cost, and knowledge among headspace clinicians of how and why to access these assessments.
“There are several avenues for increasing access to CNA within headspace; the most obvious is direct funding of CNA, either locally or federally through the Medicare Benefits Schedule. Even with increased access via Medicare, clinical neuropsychologists able to administer CNAs are not easily accessible by many headspace centres. Nearly 87% of neuropsychologists with the relevant training are based in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland yet a quarter of headspace centres are located outside of these states.
“Given this, alternative modes of access to CNA, such as telehealth, should be explored,” Dr Allott said. “Our findings also suggest that headspace workforce training in screening for and providing interventions for cognitive impairment may be beneficial.”
This study was supported by funding from the University of Melbourne.