![Matt and Sarah U'Brien with senator Anne Urquhart (middle). Picture supplied Matt and Sarah U'Brien with senator Anne Urquhart (middle). Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/163574784/d3dc59c4-25db-4faf-82eb-3c0cfd11be27.jpeg/r191_0_3024_4032_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
FORMER police officer Matt U'Brien had a plan to end his own life.
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His wife Sarah was desperate to find help, but living in a rural town meant that she had few places to turn.
Their experience is not unique.
Many people living in the Dungog shire are seeing firsthand that there is a chronic shortage of mental health services..
"It was really, really difficult," Mrs U'Brien said.
"I had to become the advocate, I had to do the research, I had to find the right people and there certainly was not the access to what Matt needed locally."
Every psychologist they went to was booked out for three to four months.
Mrs U'Brien resorted to pleading with receptionists over the phone to try to get help but the only help available was more than an hour away.
"We've had to go to Thornton and right through Newcastle [and] at a time when the clinical care is paramount, when people are incredibly unwell, Matt was seeing a psychologist, a GP weekly and sometimes twice a week," Mrs U'Brien said.
This meant he either had to drive himself to get care or his partner would have to take a full day off work to take him.
"Your travel and appointments, that's a whole day," she said.
"If you're seeing a GP once or twice a week and you're seeing a psychologist once or twice a week, there's three or four days in the week just gone accessing care."
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Ms U'Brien said the lack of services forced people to make a tough choice.
"If people can't afford to take the time off work to access the care that they need ... they have to choose a roof over their head and food on the family's table versus accessing the care that they need to stay well.
"They're not the choices that we should be making in our society."
Mr U'Brien was diagnosed with PTSD after he left the police force in 2013. Everyday was a battle against his depression and suicidal thoughts.
In a time with rising cost of living and petrol prices, this added significant pressure to the family budget.
Mr U'Brien has since largely recovered and now hosts a podcast discussing his time in the emergency services while his wife has become a mental health advocate.
The complete lack of mental health services is an issue that the Dungog and District Community Centre has had to deal with for decades, centre manager Kate Murphy said.
"I don't think there's enough mental health services for young people in Australia and certainly regional areas, probably there's more of an impact," she said.
"I think mental health is an area that probably doesn't get the resources and the funding that it should get overall and then as I said the regional areas are basically less well serviced."
![Dungog and District Community Centre manager Kate Murphy (right) with family worker Karyn Marsh. Picture by Angus Michie Dungog and District Community Centre manager Kate Murphy (right) with family worker Karyn Marsh. Picture by Angus Michie](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/163574784/baa7f499-466b-43c3-bae7-ae8181aa11fc.JPG/r0_762_4032_3029_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Dungog Shire Medical Centre previously had a psychologist, however after they retired at the end of 2021 the town has gone without, according to Ms Murphy.
She believes that this chronic shortage of mental health services is caused by a lack of funding for the regions.
Many psychologists and health professionals prefer to live and work in major cities, making access more difficult.
"Not everyone wants to come and work in an area like Dungog," Ms Murphy said.
"I think a lot of the services are really focused in the larger areas.
"Not all practitioners want to work in a small area, they prefer to be somewhere with a group, with more support."
A lack of mental health services in Dungog has forced people to travel further abroad to Maitland or Newcastle.
The lacklustre public transport system makes it more difficult for adults and all but impossible for the town's youth, Ms Murphy said.
"If the services are in Maitland but you live somewhere that has no public transport to Maitland, then the service might be there but you can't access it," she said.
The Dungog Community Centre provides a degree of support for those in need, but they don't have enough resources for everyone.
"There used to be a psychologist that worked out at the medical centre and he bulk-billed but when he retired they weren't able to replace him," Ms Murphy said.
"The community centre has youth workers who can work with young people and we have a family worker that works with families to support them, but we're not a mental health unit.
"We don't work with people that have specific mental health issues but we can help with referrals."
Although the stories that both Ms Murphy and Mrs U'Brien share may paint a bleak picture, there are still options available.
Ms Murphy believes that there needs to be more awareness about the resources that are available.
The Maitland Mental Health Unit in Maitland Hospital offers support and Ms Murphy said that she's aware of people receiving visits from its psychologists and social workers.
"I think getting that information together is really important and the council's involved with that as well through their community development officers ... apart from that I guess it's a matter of trying to lobby to get the services," she said.
On the other hand, Ms U'Brien said Telehealth services were a silver lining during the pandemic for people struggling to find the help they needed.
"I think that the Telehealth aspect has been really fantastic to be able to have access in the rural regions to some of those supports so you don't need to travel," she said.
Questions were sent to the member for the Upper Hunter Dave Layzell regarding the mental health crisis.
The Chronicle wanted to know what he is doing to ensure the Dungog shire receives more mental health funding. Mr Layzell had not responded to the questions at the time of publication.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Mensline 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.