Chris Mackey and Associates released the following information as a press release to numerous media outlets throughout Australia on September 1st, 2010.

New study supports clinical and cost effectiveness of psychological treatment under the Better Access Scheme

The Better Access (Medicare rebate) scheme funds psychologists and other mental health practitioners to offer treatment in private practice settings. The scheme has already been accessed by two million Australians, rendering it the most widely used form of mental health service provision in Australia, however it has not been without controversy. A number of prominent individuals within the mental health field have strongly asserted that the scheme is too expensive, of questionable effectiveness and targets the wrong people. However, such claims have been made ahead of any released evidence of the effectiveness or otherwise of the scheme and are in stark contrast to new findings released by Chris Mackey and Associates, an award-winning specialist psychology practice in Geelong.

 The question might be asked, "Why marry?". As Kierkegaard said about marriage, "If you do it you'll regret it — if you don't do it you'll regret it.” But the British Office of National Statistics in 2007 reported that married couples live longer, that younger married men have half the mortality rate of unmarried men, that married people commonly enjoy better health, that children living with married parents are healthier, and that those children stay in education longer. Marriage is also reportedly associated with better psychological adjustment, reduced violence, increased wealth and reduced welfare dependency. There are clearly many community benefits to marriage which help justify society’s efforts to support the institution. However, a distinction needs to be made between happy and unhappy marriages. Research shows that those who are unhappily married are more prone to illness than others, and that unhappy marital partners live on average four years less than happy ones. Therefore whether or not to marry might not be the key question, but how might one go about having a happy, long-term union.

Statistics suggest that approximately one in five adults suffers from an anxiety-based condition of which a prominent feature is some form of worry. Approximately twice that number of people would worry on a regular basis. Therefore, worry is one of the most common forms of psychological distress. Some level of worry may be normal and productive. For example, worry can be productive if we are considering a very important issue where a potentially negative outcome is likely to happen if we do not take action and there is something which we can do about the situation.  By this definition of productive worry it may be healthy to reflect on concerns about our environment or our children’s safety or our health if there are signs that these things are under immediate threat. We may then be constructively motivated to do something to improve the situation. It helps if we are focused on a specific situation and are willing to accept imperfect solutions, taking into account what we can and cannot control. By contrast, worry will commonly not be helpful if we are ruminating about relatively minor matters or about situations which are not likely to occur or when facing circumstances which we can do little about. Worry may also be unproductive if we continue to ruminate excessively and expect ourselves to have an unrealistic level of control over our circumstances or expect ourselves to find an ideal solution to complex problems.