Is headspace making a difference to young people’s lives?

3. Access and Engagement with Centres
Many staff members contrasted headspace with more traditional, clinical settings and felt that young
people were drawn to headspace precisely because of the centres’ non-clinical presentation, which
they described as welcoming, relaxed and engaging. This was confirmed by a young male who
described how he felt about his local centre:
I love this place, I feel comfortable, I can just – I don’t know, I feel almost at home …I used to
come here all the time, even if I wasn’t here for appointments I’d go down to [the centre] and
they’d have like youth events and stuff, and now I come here every Thursday … I don’t know,
it’s just like the look of it, I guess it – they have plush lounges, and it’s not all really that
business like, it just looks comfortable (Male, 15 years)
In the Satisfaction Survey, where clients were asked to report responses on a 5-point Likert scale
(strongly agree to strongly disagree), 89.5% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they felt
comfortable within their headspace centre, 1.7% of respondents reported feeling uncomfortable, with
the remaining 8.9% of respondents indicating neutral feelings.
Staff that are friendly, non-judgemental and that ‘click’ with you
In addition to the physical appeal of headspace centres, many stakeholders highlighted the key role
played by headspace personnel in actively engaging young people. A number of young people who
were interviewed spoke about how staff made them feel at ease:
Staff are here to help you, they’re not – they’re paid but they’re here to help you, it’s a little bit
hard to explain, they’re paid but they actually enjoy their job here (Male, 18 years)
A young female client was keen to emphasise how staff were welcoming and understanding:
These people are not biased, you know, they are understanding, they genuinely want to help
people. They recognise that mental illness is not a good thing to live with, that you need
to have help if you need help and they’re very open. I’ve seen people when I’ve been in
the waiting room or whatever, and I’ve seen people just walk in and say “I need to speak to
someone. Can I speak to someone?”, and someone will be found for them – I’ve seen that
happen three times, I think. It’s very efficient but it’s also very relaxed at the same time, you
know, you don’t feel like you can’t come here if you just need to which is important (Female,
18 years)
headspace staff members’ vibrancy, ability to engage and show interest in the young people
attending headspace sites were noted as being particularly important. Further, the importance of the
relationship between the young person and their counsellor was highlighted by both young people
and their parents. Both groups described situations where the young person had initially dropped
out because they did not ‘click’ with their counsellor, only to return a number of months later, and
successfully engage after being allocated a new counsellor that they did ‘click’ with.
Findings from the Satisfaction Survey indicate that even though young people reported high levels
of satisfaction for centres and the help they received, young people are most highly satisfied with
headspace staff. Ninety-three per cent of respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the statement
that they felt listened to by staff; almost 90% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the
statement that their worries and views were taken seriously by staff; and around 85% of respondents
felt that they were involved in decisions concerning their care and were able to raise concerns with
staff.
Free or low cost service
The fact that headspace services are provided free or for a small gap payment was also key to the
appeal and accessibility of the service.
I’m glad that a service like this exists because that was another concern I think I had. I wasn’t
sure if I’d have to pay anything and I didn’t have any money when I first approached them
(Female, 24 years).
And the service is free which is just – I don’t have to – when I get older, and hopefully it’s still
here, I won’t have to pay for it. Well mum doesn’t have to pay for it so that’s just a blessing
really (Male, 18 years).
Social Policy Research Centre 2015
headspace Evaluation Final Report
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