Canberra mother Calli Hogan has spent the past three years trying to get a psychological diagnosis for her eight-year-old son.
She is one of many Australians dealing with an overwhelmed public health system and a nationwide shortage of psychologists and psychiatrists.
In the ACT, more than a third of psychologists are no longer accepting new clients, while those who have kept them open have waiting lists of up to 12 months, some even longer.
Ms Hogan's son's academic, social and behavioural delays have been left undiagnosed, and she feels he, and many other children, are going to slip through the cracks.
"I've been told it could take 18 months to three years to get him assessed," Ms Hogan said.
"He's been suspended 13 times from school, which is extremely difficult."
Executive Director of the Australian Association of Psychologists Tegan Carrison said it was getting harder to see a psychologist in the territory and that the increased demand and long waiting lists were extremely concerning.
Ms Carrison said the pandemic had only exacerbated mental health issues, particularly for young people, and that children's symptoms could worsen while they waited for treatment.
"By the time someone seeks out help for their child or for themselves, they may already be in significant need of psychological care, so when we're saying it could be weeks or months before they can be seen, that can have significant detrimental effects," Ms Carrison said.
Mental health in your inbox
Get a selection of the best mental health content from across the ABC by subscribing to our monthly newsletter
No stranger to struggles
While the wait to diagnose her eight-year-old has been frustrating, it is not a new problem for the family.
Ms Hogan's other son, a 14-year-old, has Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and an academic delay..
She said she had spent years struggling to find support for him, but was constantly dealing with red tape.
"I can get my youngest into a private paediatrician at the end of next month, however that will be $500 for the initial consultation and then we're looking at about $3000 for testing," she said.
Ms Hogan said her children are quickly losing faith in the system.
"They're like 'why are we not important enough? Why don't we deserve this help?'"
"There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but they're just not seeing it and neither am I at the moment.
"They're being kind of pushed aside, seeping through the cracks and not getting their needs met — it's a recipe for disaster"
Only book open
Canberra Child Psychiatry Centre psychiatrist Deepa Singhal is one of few who is still taking on new patients in the ACT.
While Dr Singhal is accepting new referrals, the waitlist is more than 12 months long.
"I kept my book open, especially for the young people, under 12s, who have psychosis or severe depression or significant school refusal who are struggling — which will have long term repercussions to them, and they are not able to find services," she said.
Dr Singhal said there was a major gap between demand and supply, with more families seeking support for their children post-pandemic.
"The pandemic hasn't helped the mental health situation and also Canberra as a community, we had bushfire before COVID, so we were already a stressed population before going [into the] pandemic"
Dr Singhal reiterated that not getting the help at the right time can have severe long-term repercussions.
"If it's not dealt with earlier, it becomes more chronic and time frame-based intervention is always helpful," she said.
What could help?
The Australian Association of Psychologists is calling on the federal government to allow provisional psychologists to provide services under Medicare — something Ms Carrison said would help remedy shortage issues and significantly reduce wait times for children.
She said the peak body also wanted the federal government to raise the rebate to $150 to ensure the most vulnerable in the community can access psychological services.
"The current client rebate is around $89, whereas the cost of providing that service is significantly higher," she said.
"This leaves psychologists with little option but to pass this difference to the consumer which can make seeing a psychologist unaffordable to those with lower incomes."
