Digital Mental Health Platform is Welcomed to NSW

The state of New South Wales has committed $1.5 million on a digital Mental Health platform that will be used by eight of its agencies. Its installation is scheduled to be completed by June 30th of the following year. For young individuals aged 15 to 25, the Moderated Online Social Counseling (MOST) platform offers round-the-clock integrated face-to-face and online therapy, tools, and programmes.

It supports young patients with a network of peers and Mental Health clinicians, as well as the ability to interact with other patients via the platform. Users can also construct their own toolkit of methods to utilise before, during, and after therapy sessions using MOST. Orygen, an Australian non-profit research and Mental Health care organisation, invented it last year in July. Mobile phones, tablets, and desktop PCs can all access the digital platform.

As part of the state government’s COVID-19 community support response, MOST was trialled in Victoria and quickly spread. Since the outbreak, young Australians have had to wait six to eight weeks for an appointment with a psychologist at headspace, a government-funded non-profit service for teenagers. Bronnie Taylor, Minister of Mental Health, stated that the installation of MOST will offer them with immediate access to specialised care during this “challenging time” in.

The University of Sydney was awarded a A$3.4 million ($2.5 million) grant from the federal government’s Clinical Trials and Cohorts Studies scheme in July to test a new style of care for young individuals with Mental Health difficulties who are in the early stages of their illness. The university’s Brain and Mind Centre is collaborating with Orygen, Deakin University, and the University of Notre Dame on a five-year Youth Model of Care trial that will begin early next year.