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

4. Outcomes of headspace Clients
in the frequency and/or volume of alcohol consumption and illicit drug use, ceasing illicit drug use
altogether, reductions in craving alcohol, and increased ability to manage drug use because of a
greater understanding of personal triggers and habitual behaviours.
All but one of the young people who spoke about their alcohol consumption and drug use attributed
their improved outcomes to the support, information and counselling that they had received from
headspace practitioners:
She managed to talk me into quit smoking [marijuana]. Like both times I’m like no, it’s not
going to happen, not going to happen. But she worked her little magic dust and then I quit.
(Female, 20 years)
[My headspace counsellor] told me you know, don’t try and give it up straightaway if you don’t
want to, but gave me a whole heap of pamphlets, which I read. She was like maybe just try
one day on and one day off and I think it was about a day or two after that I was just
sitting there and I had a cone and I thought you know, I don’t want to do this anymore.... A lot
of the stuff she said really sunk in. So the next day I went cold turkey and I haven’t smoked
anything since. (Female, 20 years)
This last quote was from a young person who had been smoking marijuana for four years prior to
attending headspace. A headspace practitioner confirmed similar results stating:
A lot of my clients have quit marijuana in the time that I’ve seen them... yeah a lot of people
are just ending drug use for good, which is fantastic. (Youth Worker)
Two young people commented that they had reduced their alcohol consumption because they had a
greater awareness of how they had used alcohol to self-medicate, and this knowledge helped them
to change their behaviour.
Physical health
hCSA data indicates that service providers identified problems with physical health as the primary
presenting issue for less than 1% of clients (n=167 clients, 2013/14 financial year). Sexual and
reproductive health problems were identified as the primary presenting issue for another 3% of
clients. Service data indicates, however, that many young people received general health services
that are offered as part of the model to provide holistic care, and also because mental and physical
health are fundamentally linked. In 2013/14, 6,315 occasions of services were for physical health
issues. Service usage data therefore shows that general health services are needed. General
healthcare was also identified in interviews with headspace staff as an important soft entry point for
young people who may require mental health support, but who are unlikely to actively seek treatment
for fear of being stigmatised.
During the site interviews, young people and their parents described a range of behaviours and
lifestyle factors that lead to poor physical health. This included smoking cigarettes, substance abuse,
physical inactivity, poor nutrition, poor sleep and poor hygiene. Young people typically attributed a
positive change in health behaviours and consequently an improvement in their physical health to the
practical support and advice they received from their headspace practitioner(s):
What headspace has taught me is if you don’t like something then do something about it. So
I’ve never been really happy with my body so now I go to the gym and I’m going to the gym
three days a week and everything like that and that’s just a part of headspace. So I can get
– I can vent when I go to the gym, get it all out and then I can handle my son better. (Female,
23 years)
[My headspace practitioner] has tried to help me with my sleeping pattern as well and she’s
been showing me some relaxation exercises. So it’s good with that and my sleeping pattern
has gotten a lot better. (Male, 17 years)
After sorting out all the problems I was really skinny. [My headspace practitioner] is always
shoving food in my face [laughs] or offering to help me out. She’s even raided out the
staffroom downstairs when I had no money for food and she gave me a big bag of food and
helped me out a lot. (Female, 20 years)
General health services were often described as invaluable by staff members who were interviewed
Social Policy Research Centre 2015
headspace Evaluation Final Report
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