ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact

Our town’s mental health facilities have been boosted and buoyed by the arrival of a new psychiatrist who’s just opened up a new practice behind the bar of a local tavern.

The Gelded Seahorse, one of the largest public houses in Betoota Heights, has long been the first port of call for members of our small but largely cosmopolitan desert community who need help with their mental health.

Joining the Gelded Seahorse crew this week is Marcel Steiger, a Swiss national here in town completing his regional work so he can spend another year surfing in North Queensland.

This is the first Australian psychiatrist practice that the 28-year-old has worked in but he brings with him a wealth of experience from his hometown of Bern.

“You know, it’s funny. Here I am thousands of miles from home, different culture, different people but the problems are still the same,” he told The Advocate this morning.

“A client sat at the bar for six hours the other telling me all about how his wife is having it off with a real estate agent because he’s been emotionally distant for too long and starved her for attention. I was all like, ‘Hey mate, that’s a tough. But don’t give up on it just yet. You’ll work it out. Would you like another neat triple vodka?'”

“It takes years of training to master this craft. Giving people just enough medicine to forget their problems but not enough to make them cry or make a scene in the hotel. For everyone in the pub. Some clients can self medicate, some can’t. You need to know the difference. To be able to spot a fight ten minutes before it happens. To make sure you’ve got enough cold schooners in the fridge ready for stumps. Make sure the ashtrays are empty,”

“That’s just a glimpse into what it’s like being a psychiatrist is a regional community. We need more funding from the government, too. At the very least, they could put Betoota Bitter or the Long Haul Mid on the PBS!”

More to come.

