Patterns of Referral to Clinical Psychology Services in the Ministry of Health Malaysia

BACKGROUND: This descriptive study identifies the demographic characteristics and patterns of referral to clinical psychology services, which include types of diagnosis, types of referral and source of referrals in child, adolescent, adult and geriatric cases in Malaysia. METHODS: We utilised 2,179 referrals between January and December 2015 from six general hospitals and three mental health institutions that provide clinical psychology services. RESULTS: The percentage of male referrals (60.3%) is higher than that of female referrals (39.7%). Adult cases had the highest percentage of referrals (48.2%). Children (48.8%) and adolescent (28.1%) cases were mainly referred for psychological assessment. Meanwhile, adult cases (74.8%) were mainly referred for psychological intervention. Neurodevelopmental disorders was the diagnosis with the highest percentage of referrals recorded (41.4%), followed by depressive disorders (13.3%) and anxiety disorders (12.7%), and the combination of other disorders. Psychiatrists provided the highest number of referrals (82.2%), which is unsurprising as both fields are closely related. CONCLUSION: Clinical psychology services within the Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia play an important role in mental health care.