Youth Service Integration Resource Kit
A guide to working together for youth mental health service providers
More than one million young Australians experience mental illness each year, and half of all young people experience a mental health issue before age 25. Youth mental health crises increased during Covid-19 lockdowns and have remained high. The need for compassionate, effective responses to young people is greater than ever before.
With a loving family and responsive treating teams, Charlie receives strong support for their complex mental health challenges and feels optimistic about the future. But the journey is still hard and sometimes confronting, as they deal with negative community attitudes and the need to share their story repeatedly with unconnected parts of the mental health system.
Charlie has used these experiences in their role as an adviser to the Youth Integration Project, which is helping services collaborate more effectively in their response to young consumers.
Watch the video to hear from Charlie about why an integrated youth mental health service system – where providers work together in planned, streamlined ways – is the key to better care for young people.
Statistics
50%
Half of all young people experience at least one period of mental ill-health before the age of 25
1/3
One in three Australians aged 12-25 years report high levels of psychological distress
75%
75% of mental health disorders appear between adolescence and young adulthood
1 million
1 million young Australians experience mental illness each year
Improving youth mental health service integration is a major challenge that will require the passion of individual service providers and a monumental collective effort.
The Youth Service Integration Resource Kit has been developed to help meet this challenge by supporting youth mental health service providers to work together better with their partner agencies.
This kit provides interactive tools, templates background reading to empower youth mental health services to work together more effectively for young people and their families.
The Resource Kit has been developed from the research findings of the Youth Integration Project, which analysed youth mental health services in Australia and overseas to identify the essential elements of service integration.
The research identified five core areas of focus for service providers to support evolution towards a more integrated mental health care system for young Australians.
Assessment tool
The Resource Kit starts with a questionnaire to help services identify how well they are currently working with others in their area, and how they can boost their collaborations to help young people get back on track with work, study and relationships at this critical life stage.
Complete the questionnaire to rate your level of integration with other services in your area. The results will direct you towards the resources that are likely to be most helpful.
The Resources
The Resources have been organised according to each focus topic, which can be accessed from any page in the Resource Kit. They include reflection worksheets, implementation guidance, action checklists, useful templates and additional reading
Join us on the journey
This is Version 1.0 of the Youth Service Integration Resource Kit, and we want to build on it to make it even more relevant and valuable. If you are a youth mental health service provider and you have suggestions for additions or changes, or if you would like to be part of a formal pilot program, we welcome your feedback. Please contact us.
The Youth Integration Project, including the Youth Service Integration Resource Kit, was developed using a grant awarded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
Explore the core components of integrated mental health care for young people
Mindgardens Neuroscience Network acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respect to them and their cultures, and to Elders past, present and emerging.
We acknowledge the voices of people with lived experience, their carers, families and kinship groups. We recognise the expertise acquired through living with a mental health, drug and alcohol or neurological disorder and acknowledge those who care for people on their recovery journey. We place lived experience at the heart of all that we do.
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