Dr. Shari McDaid:

I see two major impacts from broadening the scope of the roles. The first relates to quicker access. We are very well aware in the community that one of our biggest problems is giving people timely access to care. The waiting list for CAMHS is the most visible aspect of that but there are other areas of the service where people cannot get access and where there are no lists to demonstrate that lack of access. That is one impact that would be very visible. The other impact would be in the context of choice. If there were a greater variety of roles, individuals attending services would have more choice in terms of the kinds of supports they would pursue in their recovery. That is very important from a human rights perspective because services should be in keeping with people's preferences for treatment. It is also something we know people want. We are all different in terms of what will assist our recovery. For one person, social prescribing will help in getting a prescription for a community group or a gym whereas one-to-one therapy will work for another person. For another person, it might be group therapy and for someone else it might be creative arts therapy. Someone else might need medication while another person might need regular support from a psychologist. To get philosophical for a moment, each person will have to shape his or her own recovery. That is the reality.

Mental health supports work best when they respond to the preferences of the individual. When people attend a service which is more one size fits all, one finds that they simply switch off. They may try to find supports on their own, but they may not be successful in doing so and their mental health may deteriorate. While it is positive that more and more people from all kinds of backgrounds are coming forward for mental health support because we are reducing the stigma, if more men come forward for counselling and psychotherapy when it used to be more women or girls, something tailored to them might be required. That is why we need to explore things like e-mental health whereby support can be accessed online by individuals who are not comfortable going to a clinic. As such, more choice is a potential positive impact. Ms Mitchell might be able to address the resources needed in primary care settings.