How to access treatment?

There is a formal process for making a referral to Spectrum. This helps us determine the most appropriate avenue of treatment at Spectrum, or other service.

A referral is needed from a Victorian area mental health and wellbeing service clinician before an assessment can be considered. 

If you are currently receiving treatment from a Victorian area mental health and wellbeing service, your case manager or clinician can make a referral to Spectrum on your behalf. Please email or call intake to begin the referral process (contact details below).

If you would like information about the referral process or treatment options you can contact our Intake Service during office hours, Monday to Friday (Melbourne time) on (03) 8413 8750.

For information and contact details for all of Victorian area mental health and wellbeing service, see the Victorian area mental health and wellbeing services website.

Once a referral has been received, a Spectrum consultant psychiatrist will contact the referrer to arrange an appointment for an initial assessment. The initial assessment may be either in-person or a telehealth appointment and usually within 4 to 6 weeks of referral.

The assessment appointment is a full psychiatric interview, which will involve an in-depth discussion of a person’s personal and health history. At Spectrum, we aim to make this as comfortable as possible as we understand that this sometimes can be an anxiety-provoking experience. 

For anyone awaiting assessment, please let the assessing team know of any specific considerations. This will help us accommodate needs and requests.

An assessment will likely also include paper-based or digital screening measures. These help provide a more holistic picture seeking our services. Personal information is always treated as confidential.

The person seeking our services will receive immediate feedback during the initial assessment interview, however there may be additional follow up depending on the specifics of the assessment. 

A Spectrum assessment does not always lead to an offer of treatment with Spectrum. In these cases, we offer recommendations for alternative treatment or support.