'Dehumanising': a regional teen's 300km journey for mental health treatment

In the whole state of Victoria there are only 54 dedicated in-patient beds for adolescents that are largely concentrated in metropolitan areas.

For patients under the age of 18 in Albury-Wodonga, on the NSW-Victoria border, there are zero beds available and the closest in-patient mental health ward is more than three-hour drive away at Box Hill Hospital.

Ms Kendall said the experience of driving more than 300km without stopping while in mental crisis was "dehumanising".

"The seatbelt's on you, and you're just looking out the window for three and a half hours driving down the highway thinking about where you're going," she said.

"You can't get out, you can't stop to go to the toilet unless you want someone to go into the toilet with you."

Being confined to a moving vehicle for hours during a mental health crisis is the harsh reality for regional young people who can't be treated close to home.

Transporting young people in crisis also places an unfair burden on ambulance staff who often don't have specialised training in mental health care.

"Sitting on the side of the road isn't really the safest thing to do with a suicidal patient," Ms Kendall said.

"I know for a lot of patient transport workers that's scary for them."

Ms Kendall began not-for-profit Silent Sounds of Survivors after her options for care were either hundreds of kilometres away or in an adult ward locally.

The terrible experience she had as a 17-year-old in an adult facility left lasting damage that has hindered her seeking further treatment into adulthood.

When she was meant to be receiving critical in-patient care, she spent the majority of her time worried for her safety living in close proximity to adult men and women also in crisis.

Miss Kendall believes had she lived in a city her level of care and her mental health as an adult would be much better than it is now.

After her experience, she is urging other young people and parents of adolescents to seriously think about their health care needs before making a tree change.

"I think if you're moving, you definitely need to consider not only mental health, but physical health services as well, because there's a real lack of them," Ms Kendall said.

"You might think it's cheaper in the regions, but if you need to travel to Melbourne or Sydney or Canberra every week or multiple times a week, it's not cheaper in the long run."

Aside from the obvious safety issues of mixing adolescents and adults in mental health care, youth organisation Headspace said that young people require specialised care.

Headspace National Clinical Advisor Caroline Thain said 49 per cent of young Australians were experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress.

"Early intervention is critical in reducing the long-term impacts of mental ill-health, and we know that young people often experience mental health and wellbeing challenges differently from adults," she said.

Ms Thain said it was important for care to be relevant to the individual's age, experience and stage of development.

Mental health advocate Richard Hendrie said young people are suffering in the regions due to the current funding model.

Support services like Headspace are funded based on how many people currently use them rather than the actual need, so low population areas are often chronically underfunded.

Mr Hendrie said the disconnect between state and federal governments when it comes to mental health is causing young people to "fall through the gaps".

"We need a proper National Mental Health Policy that's co-designed and co-developed with consumers and we'll go from there," he said.

"Because what is a good policy in Sydney or Melbourne is not necessarily a good policy in Albury."

Mr Hendrie who is also the Greens candidate for the Farrer byelection said he has to make a 600km round trip to Canberra for his own specialised psychiatric care.

"It's a great place to live until you get sick and then it's an absolute nightmare."

"You might be able to get a bigger or more affordable house, but in the end you will also be having to travel further for specialist appointments if you do get sick or mentally unwell."