Enhancing the clinical care of young people with complex mental health needs

Enhancing the clinical care of young people with complex mental health needs

26 July 2018

Enhancing the clinical care of young people with complex mental health needs

The enhanced care model piloted at Orygen’s four headspace centres in Melbourne’s north-west in 2017 has had its funding extended following successful results in its first year.

The model is centred on enhanced care coordinators who provide a vital role in addressing gaps in mental health care for young people with severe and complex health issues, and better identifying those young people at risk of suicide.

The funding from the North-West Melbourne Primary Health Network supports the, four enhanced care coordinators who have been recruited across Orygen’s headspace sites in Craigieburn, Glenroy, Sunshine and Werribee.

The director of clinical programs at Orygen, Liz Burgat, said the enhanced care coordinators were the interface between the headspace access/intake teams, medical staff and private clinicians, as well as the liaison point between primary, secondary and tertiary services.

“These senior clinical roles have been a fantastic opportunity to start to fill in some gaps, join the dots and connect the pieces of the puzzle that at other times can result in young people not engaging in help or dropping out of treatment and options,” Ms Burgat said.

Providing this flexible and responsive service to young people supports their engagement with mental health services and may involve:

  • addressing poor functioning or psychological barriers to treatment;
  • outreach to support initial engagement or assessment;
  • supplementing existing care provided by allied health providers;
  • providing timely support to clients presenting in crisis to emergency departments;
  • assisting families and carers in supporting an ambivalent young person to seek help; and
  • coordination, consultation, and the training/coaching of staff and external agencies.

Watch this video for more information about the support provided by our enhanced care coordinators.