Sonder Annual Report 2020 - 21

Mental health
services for adults.
SONDER ANNUAL REPORT 2020-21 14
Our recovery-focused approach to mental health services
supports individuals to improve their wellbeing and
pursue a life with meaning, hope and purpose.
We provided over 40,000
services to 6,020 individuals
experiencing mental health
concerns in Adelaide’s
northern and western
metropolitan regions, as well
as Gawler-Barossa.
Almost 70% of people who
accessed mental health services
showed an improvement in their
wellbeing.
Additional recruitment of 8
Peer Workers to our Walk-in
After-Hours Mental Health
Service contributed to consistent
availability of workers with lived
experience of mental illness.
Our Walk-in After-Hours Mental
Health Service provided 342
individuals with free, on-the-spot
treatment, advice and support
from trained mental health
professionals, without the need for
a formal referral.
We piloted a new program to
support older people struggling
with the impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID & Your Wellbeing was a
program provided by Mental
Health Practitioners who
worked with older Australians
to overcome feelings of being
overwhelmed, stressed or
lonely due to the pandemic. Our
practitioners helped clients to stay
connected, cope with the new
changes in their lives and look
after their wellbeing.
Establishment of the program
was supported by extensive
networking and community
consultation. Over 50 network
meetings were held with
stakeholders from local
governments, senior clubs,
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander community groups and
community health services.
We developed a new client
pathway, utilising the Choice
and Partnership Approach
(CAPA) model, to maximise the
effectiveness of practitioner skills
and administration processes
where possible, to ensure each
step of the pathway adds value
for our clients.
Our new pathway enables early
face-to-face contact, family or
support person involvement and
client self-determination.
This systematic approach to
service organisation and demand
management puts clients
at the very centre, enabling
collaborative goal-setting for
better client-worker engagement,
reduced waiting times for
appointments, and enables us to
appropriately match clients to
the right program and type of
support.
Individuals who accessed the
walk-in service had significant
reductions in distress, regardless
of whether peer support, clinical
support or a combined service
was provided.
This led to the establishment of
three service delivery co-locations
within community centres, which
were instrumental in facilitating
referrals, improving ease of
access for clients and supporting
clients to re-engage with the
community and reduce feelings of
isolation.