Primary Health Tasmania in collaboration with Larter invites you to attend a fully funded Focussed Psychological Strategies training (Level 2).
The training will focus on addressing a broad range of mental health presentations, strengthen holistic care pathways, and will provide GPs the opportunity to utilise the full suite of Better Access/MBS-supported services for their patients.
Successful completion will allow GPs to register with Medicare as a GP provider of Focussed Psychological Strategies, unlocking additional Focussed Psychological Strategies specific MBS item numbers so they can bill for these structured psychological strategies in patient consultations. This means patients can receive cost-effective, locally delivered psychological care directly from their GP, which is especially valuable in areas with limited access to psychologists or psychiatrists.
Focussed Psychological Strategies training involves a total of 22.5 hours of training, comprising:
- 9 hours of pre-work online and self-paced that will be sent to you prior to the workshop
- 12 hours of face-to-face or virtual workshop-based training (over the 16 and 17 of May)
- 1.5 hours of reinforcement activity
On completion you will be allocated 22.5 hours of CPD and will be eligible to apply to Medicare Australia to register as a provider of Focussed Psychological Strategies.
Limited to 30 GPs – please get in fast, so you are not disappointed! If you can no longer attend, please let us know so other GPs don’t miss out.
Learning outcomes:
- Select evidence-based FPS interventions appropriate to consumer issues and needs outlined in the GPMHTP.
- Demonstrate evidence-based FPS intervention appropriate to consumer issues and needs in general practice.
- Apply the lived experience and needs of consumers, their carers and others in their network to inform provision of FPS.
- Discuss the use of practice systems and strategies to provide safe and holistic mental health care in the context of general practice.
- Demonstrate engagement of regular supervision and other professional development to maintain and extend skills in providing FPS.
- Discuss appropriate MBS item numbers relating to providing mental health care in general practice.
More information about Focussed Psychological Strategies (FPS) Level 2 Training
- Focussed Psychological Strategies (FPS) training (Level 2) builds on Level 1 by equipping GPs with skills to deliver evidence-based psychological interventions, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and related approaches, within general practice.
- To undertake FPS Level 2 training (accredited by the General Practice Mental Health Standards Collaboration – GPMHSC), GPs must have completed Level 1 Mental Health Skills Training.
- Successful completion enables GPs to register with Medicare as a provider of FPS, unlocking additional FPS-specific MBS item numbers. This allows billing for structured psychological strategies delivered during consultations.
Speaker information:
Dr Cathy Andronis works as a GP and psychotherapist in inner Melbourne and a provider of all modalities of FPS since its inception.
She is immediate former chair of the RACGP Specific Interest faculty in Psychological Medicine, and an active advocate for mental health in primary care including RACGP representative at Mental Health Australia, on the quality assurance and education committee of MHPN and adviser on expert committees regarding mental health policy and implementation.
Cathy is a clinical member of the Australian Association of Family Therapy.
She is a medical educator at Monash and Deakin Universities, a provider of clinical supervision and mentorship, a trainer in Focussed Psychological Strategies and a facilitator of case consultation groups with RACGP and ASPM.
Dr May Chi is a clinical psychologist and supervisor who is passionate about workforce nurturance and innovative solutions to primary mental health care in regional Australia. She runs a psychology group private practice in a regional centre, carries her own caseload, and delivers training and education to tertiary students and professionals. May is involved in a number of professional interest groups and committees with the purpose of understanding and supporting the quality and accessibility of psychological services to create community level flourishing. May’s PhD was how experiential avoidance impacts the quality of life and fear of cancer recurrence in early breast cancer survivors living in regional Australia.
May loves training anyone who wants to apply psychotherapy and assessment skills to make the world a better place for all. She fluently adapts her approach to the individual through an understanding of the theoretical mechanisms and applied practice of specific psychotherapies. Her favourite modalities are person-centered approaches and third-wave cognitive and behavioural therapies.
Additional information
- For more information on Focussed Psychological Strategies Skills Training refer to here: Focussed Psychological Strategies Skills Training – GPMHSC