# Availability and consumer experience of mental health crisis services in Australia

## TL;DR

This review explores the availability and consumer experiences of mental health crisis services in Australia, highlighting inconsistencies and areas for improvement.

## Contribution

The study provides a comprehensive overview of crisis services and consumer experiences in Australia, focusing on non-severe psychiatric cases.

## Key findings

- Crisis services include emergency departments, helplines, and community centres, but experiences vary significantly.
- Negative staff attitudes and long wait times are common issues affecting consumer satisfaction.
- Services often provide emotional support rather than medical interventions, leading to mixed outcomes.

## Abstract

The number of individuals presenting with a mental health crisis in Australia has been steadily increasing. This review aims to identify what crisis intervention services are available in Australia for consumers experiencing a mental health crisis without an underlying severe psychiatric illness, and to explore the experiences of consumers utilizing these services.

Using PRISMA methodology, we conducted a review of four databases (Ovid Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus) for articles relating to lived experience of consumers in Australian crisis intervention services. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, and relevant articles assessed.

Eleven articles met the inclusion criteria. Identified crisis services included emergency departments, emergency services, crisis helplines, and community centres. Persistent themes included negative attitudes from staff, discordance around what constitutes a mental health crisis warranting presentation, long wait times, and the role of these services in providing non-clinical emotional support rather than medical interventions.

This review identified clear discrepancies in consumer experiences between services, with specific aspects of care consistently linked to either positive or negative experiences. Improving staff communication and addressing judgemental attitudes may improve experiences. System reform would be better guided by further research into why consumers engage with specific crisis services.