CLINICS AND PSYCHIATRIC WARDS

Clinics are health facilities relatively smaller than hospitals and provide health care for people in the community. Clinics are typically privately operated and comprise of a range of specialist healthcare professionals who work together in treating and caring for particular psychological disorders.  A range of services are available at clinics including:

Inpatient services

For patients experiencing acute symptoms and requiring urgent attention and overnight stay for a period of time in the clinic. Once the acute symptoms have resolved and the patient has stabilised they can attend the clinic as an outpatient.

Outpatient services

For patients attending the clinic during the day and staying at home overnight. Many outpatient services have programmes running during the day, at night and also on the weekend to accommodate and work around patient’s outside commitments.

Outreach services

Some patients may require the services of outreach clinicians who visit patients in their home environment. Regular visits assist patients in preventing relapse and reinforce skills learnt in the other programs offered at the clinic.

Day Programs

These are for people who may require treatment without hospitalisation or those who require transitional care following an inpatient stay. Day programs are aimed at promoting recovery from mental illness and preventing relapse within a community setting. 

Like clinics, psychiatric wards specialise in treating people experiencing a range of different mental illnesses, including depression, psychoses such as schizophrenia, anxiety, and eating disorders. Psychiatric wards may be part of a larger private or public hospital, or they can be located in a house or small building. Many people find spending time in a psychiatric hospital or ward a very helpful way to:

• Have time out.
• Find out what is happening to them and maybe why.
• Stabilise medication.
• Get intensive treatment by doctors and other health workers with specialist training, such as nurses, occupational therapists, social workers, and psychologists.

To look for a clinic or psychiatric ward, click here.