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

4. Outcomes of headspace Clients
4.4 Summary
As evidenced in Chapter 3, young people receiving services and support from headspace centres
represent a diverse group in terms of their presenting issues, family circumstances, demographic
characteristics, past experiences and their service needs. It is clear that most of the young people
and parents/carers who participated in interviews viewed headspace positively. They attributed
a range of improved outcomes, across the four key domains, to the supports and services they
received from headspace practitioners. The few young people who did not directly attribute
improvements to headspace felt that their increasing ability to handle frustrations and difficult
situations was a result of their growing maturity and/or support from their family.
The qualitative results are decisive and they align with the improvement in young people’s mental
health that is evidenced in the quantitative findings. The quantitative data does not, however, show
consistent patterns of improvement in measures of physical health, drug and alcohol use and social
inclusion. The qualitative findings in this area were positive but less pronounced than in relation to
mental health outcomes. It needs to be remembered that interviews were not conducted with young
people who dropped out of the service following an intake assessment. These young people are
included in the administrative data, and this perhaps helps to explain the divergence between positive
qualitative and equivocal quantitative findings in relation to drug and alcohol use, physical health and
social inclusion.
During interviews, young people provided varied examples of positive changes in their lives. While
many discussed improvements in specific areas, a number spoke in more general terms, perhaps
indicating the interconnectedness of mental health and wellbeing. Further, young people often talked
about their mental health problems interacting with as well as intensifying problems in their behaviour
and wellbeing. Importantly, they gave examples of improved mental health motivating and/or enabling
them to make positive changes in other areas of their lives and to better cope with daily problems.
Another clear finding relates to the importance of relationships in youth mental health care. For
most young people, the individual relationship with their headspace practitioner formed the core of
their experience with headspace and was fundamental to improved outcomes. Many young people
expressed a genuine regard and appreciation for their headspace practitioner(s). Data indicates
that two characteristics were particularly valued by young people: practitioners who encouraged
and motivated young people to enact their own ideas for improving their life, and practitioners who
listened to young people while still respecting their right to share as much or as little information as
they wanted.
The headspace evaluation included an examination of the centre-based service delivery model to
identify features that help or hinder the achievement of headspace program objectives. The findings
related to the specific research questions are provided throughout this chapter and a summary of key
findings is presented at the end of this chapter.
The headspace service delivery model was designed to encourage earlier help seeking among
young people at risk of mental health problems, and to ensure that they receive a range of high
quality services that flexibly meet their needs and improve their outcomes. The services provided
at centres relate to the key health needs of the targeted age group and include physical and mental
health services, drug and alcohol services and services to support increased vocational and
social participation. Evaluation data indicates that this range of services available at centres helps
headspace to engage with young people who may initially be unwilling to address mental health
concerns. In addition, it ensures the treatment of co-morbid conditions or circumstances.
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