Medibank expands psychotherapy offering to include Treatment Resistant Depression
Medibank today announced it will fund an innovative psychotherapy program for Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD), as part of its ongoing commitment to improve access to mental health treatment in Australia.
This follows Medibank’s announcement in June that it would fund a similar innovative therapy for customers with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Medibank Group Chief Medical Officer and practicing psychiatrist, Dr Andrew Wilson, said Medibank is continuing to lead the way by funding these new psychotherapy treatments.
“We’re really pleased to be expanding the types of innovative psychotherapies to be available to customers. These types of treatments are expensive, and as a result, are out of reach financially for many people,” Dr Wilson said.
“We are committed to helping our customers with their mental health and making treatment more accessible and affordable. Poor mental health now ranks as one of the largest contributors to ill-health and loss of productivity worldwide.”
Eligible customers will initially be able to access the therapy at the Perth Clinic, with Emyria’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Empax Centre, conducting the treatment. Medibank is also exploring options with a number of other providers in the eastern states so in the future the treatment can become more widely available for Medibank customers.
Emyria’s Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Michael Winlo said: “Medibank’s leadership in supporting innovative mental health care is vital. New treatments that can help break cycles of fear and rumination offer real hope for people with the most persistent conditions. Building on our PTSD program, we are proud to be working closely with Medibank to demonstrate how new therapies can be safely integrated into real-world clinical care."
TRD refers to a type of major depressive disorder (MDD) where standard antidepressant treatments do not provide adequate symptom relief, and the depression doesn't improve after trying at least two different antidepressant medications.
