Youth mental health services in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) are now offering young people digital mental health support through MOST, a program funded by the ACT government for an 18-month period.
This makes the ACT the fourth Australian state or territory to offer MOST, joining Victoria, Queensland, and New South Wales.
MOST is a free digital mental health service for young people that offers access to self-directed therapeutic content, a safe moderated online community, peer workers, careers counselling and one-on-one clinical support.
Professor Mario Alvarez-Jimenez, chief of Orygen digital, who created MOST, said he was excited the ACT was joining a growing network of digitally enhanced Australian youth mental health services extending access to quality care to young people aged 12 to 25.
“Having access to the right kind of support at the right time is vital in ensuring young people can take steps to improve their mental health and wellbeing,” Professor Alvarez-Jimenez said.
“But getting that support quickly can be challenging in an environment of increased demand, long waitlists and other barriers to accessing care.
“MOST has been designed to bolster services and relieve pressure around accessing quality care. It can, for example, provide meaningful support to young people on waitlists for face-to-face sessions, reinforce or extend treatment in between sessions, or provide extra support when stepping down clinical care,” he said.
MOST is now available through referral from the Canberra and Tuggeranong headspace centres, and Canberra Hospital’s Child and Adult Mental Health Service (CAMHS).
It is also available through the Catholic Care Youth Wellbeing Program, marking the first time MOST has been implemented in a service to specifically address supporting young people too unwell for primary care, but not unwell enough for state-based services.
“We know there are growing numbers of young people experiencing mental ill-health who may not be sick enough for tertiary care, who are at risk of falling through the gaps while they access the care they need. Our partnership with Catholic Care is the first time we’ve specifically targeted supporting those young people who would otherwise find themselves part of ‘the missing middle’,” Professor Alvarez-Jimenez said.
“By enhancing services with digital support, we’re helping young Canberrans to get the support they need, when they need it, at all stages of their mental health care journey and we’re excited to welcome them to the MOST community.”
More than 70 local adolescent mental health service workers in the ACT have received training and services have been referring young people to the additional support offered by MOST.
The launch of MOST in the ACT coincides with the release of a MOST app on Google Play and the App Store, making it even easier for young people with a MOST referral to connect to digital mental health support.
Learn more at most.org.au