Against the backdrop of an international movement to improve youth mental health services, Australia established its first 10 headspace services in 2007. The services provide comprehensive support for young people aged 12-25 and their families to improve mental health and well-being. In 2023, there were 154 services across Australia, comprising the largest national network of youth mental health services world-wide. Similar service approaches in youth mental health care are now being implemented in many other countries, including Ireland, Canada, Denmark, Israel, the United Kingdom, and parts of the United States.
headspace – Australia
Abstract
Headspace is an early intervention and prevention model, designed to assist young people managing mild to moderate, high prevalence mental health conditions. Every year, headspace services support around 100 000 young people in Australia – often reaching young people with non-diagnosed mental illnesses. Overall, 3 out of 4 users are experiencing depression and/or anxiety issues, with nearly 22% resulting in a diagnosis by a headspace professional or through referral.
Headspace services cover four core areas – mental health, related physical and sexual health, alcohol and other drug support, and vocational assistance – as part of the objective of providing holistic, integrated support. The service has been praised for bringing together support options and for being co-designed with participants to ensure it meets their needs. Young people can benefit from professionals in behavioural and occupational therapy, counselling, social work, general practitioners and even employment support. The approach encourages young people to take action to promote their own health and well-being.
One prominent feature of the programme is the regional and rural spread of services, which has vastly improved since the programme was founded. Of the 154 services in operation in 2023, 84 are in “regional Australia”, which refers to towns, villages and small cities outside the state capitals and major cities. Headspace services benefit from partnerships with state and local government, and each headspace service is supported by a local consortium, a collaborative advisory group made up of local service providers and organisations. The consortium provides partnership opportunities, strategic direction, and resources to enhance the headspace service’s capacity to meet local community needs.
A recent evaluation, based on survey responses from users of the services from mid‑2019 to mid‑2020 assessed the programme’s impacts on three core areas of mental health: psychological distress, psychosocial functioning, and quality of life for young people accessing headspace. More than 70% of the 50 000 users covered by the study experienced a significant improvement on at least one of these measures during the period.
Following headspace going online during the COVID‑19 pandemic, a June 2020 survey of users showed that 78% agreed or strongly agreed that the mode of service they received had been appropriate for their needs, and around half indicated they would like to use telehealth again in the future. While not all young people have been comfortable using digitally enabled services for support, it played an important role in ensuring service continuity during the pandemic. A more recent evaluation by KMPG shows evidence of positive outcomes in terms of mental health improvements and cost-effectiveness when compared to other interventions. However, more progress is needed to address issues for hard-to-reach groups.
This practice also supports the implementation of provisions IV.3 and V.2 of the OECD Recommendation on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People (OECD, 2022[1]).
Further reading
[2] Headspace (2020), Young people’s experience of telehealth during COVID-19.
[3] KMPG Department of Health (2022), Evaluation of the National headspace Program, https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/evaluation-of-the-national-headspace-program?language=en.
[1] OECD (2022), Recommendation of the Council on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People, https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0474.
[4] OECD (2015), Mental Health and Work: Australia, Mental Health and Work, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264246591-en.
[5] Rickwood, D. et al. (2023), “Sixteen years of innovation in youth mental healthcare: Outcomes for young people attending Australia’s headspace centre services”, PLOS ONE, Vol. 18/6, p. e0282040, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282040.
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