What professional help does Depression.com.au offer?

Updated

Depression.com.au is a free community service written by psychiatrist Dr. David Horgan. It offers informational content about depression and antidepressants, and states that psychologists on the site can assist with assessment, counselling, and choosing the best therapy. It is not a crisis service, and the site itself advises seeing your GP first. Note that Dr. Horgan has retired and is no longer on the register of medical practitioners, so treat the content as general information rather than current clinical advice.

What the site provides

  • Written information on depression and medication. The site describes itself as offering free information about antidepressants and depression symptoms, all written by a psychiatrist.
  • Symptom and severity explanation. It covers symptoms such as depression with anxiety, crying, feeling tired, not coping, and poor concentration, and distinguishes mild illness (which may settle with your own efforts) from more severe illness (which it says you have little or no ability to fight without professional help and medication).
  • Access to psychologists. The site states that psychologists on the site can assist with assessment, counselling, and choosing the best therapy.
  • Framing and reassurance. It describes depression as a common illness affecting 20% of Australians, comparable to diabetes or asthma, and not a sign of weakness.

What it does not appear to be

Based on the available page content, Depression.com.au is an information and referral-style resource, not a treatment provider itself. There is no indication of emergency or crisis support, appointment booking, or pricing for any service. The site is described as a free community service, but no pricing details for psychologist services are given, so do not assume those are free.

The recommended path according to the site

  1. See your GP first. The site explicitly says to get help from your GP before the illness "digs in."
  2. Use the site's information to understand symptoms and medication options.
  3. Consider psychologist support through the site for assessment, counselling, and therapy selection.

A caveat on currency

Dr. Horgan has retired and is no longer on the register of medical practitioners. The site's content may still be useful as general background, but for current diagnosis, medication, or treatment decisions, rely on a practising clinician. If you are in crisis, contact emergency services or a crisis line rather than this website.