This project aims to answer two key questions: Does restricting how often we do these activities trigger poor mental health? Following a period of restriction, does increasing how often people do these activities subsequently trigger a recovery in mental health? The results of this project could help: Support people to better self-manage their mental health by demonstrating how our actions affect our mental health and help health professionals, such as general practitioners, recommend effective actions that people can take before they are referred to a mental health professional or start taking medication.

Bears of Hope facilitates a national program of healing workshops on managing grief and discovering coping strategies to create a foundation for the future. These focus on both individuals and couples and they offer a supportive environment to bond with other bereaved parents.

headspace is Australia’s National Youth Mental Health Foundation, providing early intervention mental health services to 12-25 year olds.
We support young people with mental health, physical health (including sexual health), alcohol and other drug services, as well as work and study support. With a focus on early intervention, we work with young people to provide support at a crucial time in their lives – to help get them back on track and strengthen their ability to manage their mental health in the future.
In everything we do, we aim to meet the evolving and unique needs of young people and those who support them.

The Mary Aikenhead Clinic provides high quality psychological and counselling services to the community at a low cost. The Mary Aikenhead Clinic is a teaching facility staffed by postgraduate psychology students/provisional psychologists, who provide holistic and client centred services, using a multidisciplinary approach. Staff at the clinic work closely with other health disciplines at ACU, including dieticians, exercise physiologists, social workers and allied health professionals. Consultation with these supportive disciplines can be sought if required, to ensure our clients receive balanced and comprehensive services.

The bereavement support groups at Grief Australia are a therapeutic, inclusive and supportive space to share common grief experiences, where it´s provided a forum for emotional, practical, and moral support.

Grief is the natural response to loss, and most people, over time, adjust to loss in their own unique way. Sometimes, however, additional stressors or factors make loss more difficult to adapt to. Historically people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, plus (LGBTI+) have experienced widespread social stigma and discrimination. People who identify as LGBTI+ may have higher levels of psychological distress and anxiety and may have reduced support networks, particularly as they age. These are important considerations in relation to grief, loss and bereavement.

The OCD STOP! program combines Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) with exposure and response prevention therapy (ERPT) which is considered the most effective treatment for OCD. It provides information about OCD and introduces skills and strategies that can help to improve understanding of OCD, learn practical techniques to manage anxiety in OCD, discover ways to manage intrusive thoughts, be guided through exposure and how to manage responses.

Army, in conjunction with Mental Health, Defence Publishing Service and Singer Songwriter Mr John Schumann have produced a DVD designed to address stigma, offer support and raise awareness of the issues surrounding PTSD for Army personnel and their families. Featuring Army members who share their own experiences with PTSD, the DVD supports the important message of look after yourself, your mates and your family.

Resolve is an innovative program which is partly funded by private and institutional investors via a Social Benefit Bond. We partner with NSW Health and Social Ventures Australia on the Resolve Program to reduce the likelihood of readmission for people with a mental health issue who have been hospitalised for an extended period. The program includes residential periodic care with 24/7 support and outreach for in-home care; in combination with specialised case management and an after hours phone line.

This service if offered at multiple locations across the SLHD catchment.
Mental health shared care supports the recovery and physical health of consumers whose care is shared by a GP and the Sydney Local Health District.

The Hurstville Anxiety Support Group is a place where people who are impacted by anxiety can give and receive support related to living with and managing their anxiety. It is facilitated by trained volunteers who have a diverse range of experiences but who are not qualified health professionals.

The UniWellbeing Course is one of the most evaluated, free, online and internet-delivered treatment courses, which is designed specifically for university students. The course is designed to teach practical, proven, skills for managing symptoms of stress, anxiety, worry, low mood and depression. It was developed because many young adults have difficulties with stress, anxiety, worry, low mood and depression. But, few people have access to or never seek treatment. In fact, it is known that as many as 50% of students experience stress, anxiety, worry, low mood and depression. This is understandable given the demands of university life and the demands of balancing this with other responsibilities. The UniWellbeing Course is designed to help students learn practical strategies to stay emotionally healthy.

​UniWellbeing Course is offered via several university counselling services, where it supports those services to provide the course to their students.

Case Management, Counselling & Psychological support service’s. Crisis and Transitional accommodation, for youth over the age of 18. Including: Brokerage, Family Support, School Support, and Speech Pathology.

WAYS psychologists offer short and long term individual and family therapy, educational and mental health assessments, psychoeducation workshops and information seminars on a range of topics that are delivered to schools and community groups.

A social and emotional wellbeing self-help app for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, that helps by showing you ways to manage your thoughts and feelings, as well as how to decide what is important in your life.

The St George Mental Health Service is part of the SESLHD Mental Health Service. The SESLHD Mental Health Service is a publicly funded specialised clinical service, serving a local population of over 930,000 residents in the eastern and south eastern suburbs of the Sydney metropolitan area. Our services are geographically networked in the north (Eastern Suburbs Mental Health Service) and the south (St George and Sutherland Mental Health Service) and provided within both hospital and community settings.

St George Mental Health Service offers the following services:

• Acute Adult Inpatient Mental Health Service
• Acute Care Team (ACT)
• Adult Community Mental Health Service
• Child and Adolescent and Youth Mental Health Service (CAYMHS)
• Co-location Employment Program
• Older Persons Community Mental Health Service
• Older Persons Inpatient Mental Health Service
• Psychiatric Emergency Care Centre (PECC)
• Youth Mental Health & Early Psychosis Program

myCompass has been developed by Black Dog Institute to help people better self-manage mild-to-moderate symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. The program is freely available on any Internet-enabled device, including computers, tablets (e.g. iPads) and mobile phones.
myCompass delivers evidence-based psychological techniques via a range of online interactive activities recommended to the user based on their profile.Alternatively, they can select learning activities that most interest them. myCompass also allows users to track their thoughts, feelings and behaviours and provides graphical feedback to help them recognise unhelpful patterns and possible triggers.

Comprehensive Assessment Service for Psychosis and At Risk (CASPAR) is a service provided by SESLHD that provides in-reach into three local headspace centres (located at Bondi Junction, Hurstville, and Miranda) to deliver early identification, care coordination, assertive outreach, and targeted interventions to support the ‘missing middle’ youth population. Largely these are young people who have mental health and recovery needs greater than what can be met by headspace alone but do not require the level of care provided by state-based public mental health services.

Tresillian Nurses on the Parent’s Help Line offer trusted advice on concerns you may have around your baby, or your own emotional health, and they can advise on the best Tresillian service for your needs.

Tresillian also provides free confidential mental health assessment and support for parents with a child aged under 5 years. Counselling is available to families accessing one of Tresillian’s services in metropolitan Sydney, the ACT and regional sites across NSW.

The team will assist you to manage your emotional health and provide a safe reflective space to ensure a positive, secure relationship is developing between you and your infant.

Open Arms can provide individual, couple, and family counseling to help improve your resilience, as well as enhance your mental health and wellbeing

Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling is Australia’s leading provider of high-quality mental health assessment, clinical counseling, and support services for Australian veterans and their families, as well as some reservists and peacekeepers. Open Arms focuses on meeting client needs through a combination of proven clinical practices and new and emerging evidence-based approaches.

ReachOut Parent Coaching is a free early intervention program delivered by ReachOut and The Benevolent Society.

Practitioners coach parents and carers of 12 to 18-year-olds over the phone and via an interactive online dashboard, helping them find positive ways to support their teenager and strengthen their relationship. Delivery of this service via these channels helps parents and carers access the program from anywhere in Australia, without the need to be face-to-face.

The  Anxiety and Worry Program is designed to help people understand the nature of anxiety and worry and to learn the skills and strategies that help manage anxiety and improve overall mental health and wellbeing.
This program is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and has been developed by psychologists and researchers from the National eTherapy Centre.

Drawing upon the latest evidence and nearly 25 years of clinical experience, the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement’s MyGrief app provides information, tools and resources to support bereaved people and also provides practical strategies for families and friends on how best to support someone in the midst of their bereavement. Every persons experience of bereavement is different. By answering a few questions, the app can provide you with a number of tailored strategies which best address your challenges in bereavement.
It is easy to use, convenient, confidential and provides bereament support.

We provide a variety of interventions and therapies for older persons who are experiencing acute symptoms of their mental health disorder and requires care within an inpatient setting. A person admitted to the unit can either be voluntary or involuntary under the NSW Mental Health Act (2007). Consumer care is provided by a multidisciplinary team which includes, psychiatrists, registrars, nurses, social worker, psychologist, occupational therapist, and peer worker.

A mental health clinician authorised by a consultant psychiatrist will conduct an assessment to determine whether an admission is the best option.

The Therapist Assisted Program provides 12 weeks of therapist support via weekly emails and up to 4 live sessions via video or instant chat to help tailor the mental health online program material to an individual’s specific situation, answer questions and offer additional support.

ACON provides confidential fee-based short-term counselling (up to 12 sessions) for sexuality and gender diverse people seeking support in relation to their mental health and wellbeing.

Fully qualified volunteer counsellors use a solution focused model and a range of therapeutic approaches to better equip people to deal with life’s challenges.

This service is a low-cost option prioritised for people seeking counselling support who are not eligible for Medicare or have limited resources to access private options. 

Led by Amy from RewireMe, you will connect to a group of welcoming peers to learn skills and techniques from Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to help you recognise and respond to low mood and anxiety in more constructive ways. It is a 6 week online program focused on on: understanding mood, anxiety and your mental health; thinking skills to tame your inner critic; thinking skills to improve your mood; actions you can take to ensure your environment works for you; helpful ways to communicate when you’re feeling down or anxious; and applying these practical skills to your everyday life.

The Telehealth Psychiatry Service provides free consultations with psychiatrists to people who are living with severe and complex mental illness in the Central and Eastern Sydney region, who due to socio-economic barriers and other social determinants would not otherwise be able to access a private psychiatrist. Working in collaboration with GPs and other mental health and psychosocial support providers, the key aspects of this initiative are to provide telehealth psychiatry services and to engage with GPs supporting people accessing the service to facilitate capacity building and support ongoing patient treatment plans.

Consultations will be offered to consumers via secure video conferencing either from their own or a support person’s home, or from their service provider or GP’s office. To use the video conferencing platform, it is necessary to have access to a device that has a camera, speaker, microphone and stable and secure internet connection.

Referrals can be made:

• Directly by GPs supporting people in primary care.
• By staff supporting people currently accessing Primary Integrated Care Supports (PICS), Connect and Thrive and the Continuity of Support (CoS) program. These referrals will need to be accompanied by a referral letter from the consumer’s GP.

Information, referral and counselling are provided to individuals and families where language or cultural issues make it difficult to access mainstream services. An individual may refer themselves or someone else (e.g. priest, doctor, service provider, family member or friend) can refer on their behalf, provided they have been given consent.

The issues for which information, referral and counselling is sought are varied and often complex because they compounded by cultural factors, the migration experience and history of the person. Counselling is provided to individuals, couples and families when they have identified an issue which is impacting negatively on their life or something they which to change and require support to deal with it more effectively.

We offer short term care 24-72 hours to consumers who requires urgent mental health care and crisis intervention. Our multidisciplinary team will assist the consumer, their family and carers during their stay in the Psychiatric Emergency Care Centre.

We provide comprehensive assessments and care over a short stay of one to three days. A wide range of specialities and health care professional will collaborate with the consumer, their family and carers, and other services to define a care pathway for optimal transition from hospital to the community. This comprehensive care plan will ensure effective after-care, relapse prevention, and avoid lengthy admission.

If you’re looking for some extra support, YourCoachPlus, PCCS’s mental health coaching service might be a great option for you. It’s a free and confidential program that can help you develop the skills you need to manage everyday stresses. Using a guided, self-help approach, this program is designed to help you break negative thought patterns and feel more in control based on low intensity CBT principles.

The best part? Accessing the program is easy and there’s little to no wait time. You need to be aged 16+ and living, working, or studying within the Central and Eastern Sydney region. If you are already currently seeing a mental health professional, you cannot use this program. However, all Australian residents can contact the national Head to Health mental health service (Ph 1800 595 212) and they will be able to refer you to the best service to meet your needs.

PANDA – Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia – supports the mental health of parents and families during pregnancy and in their first year of parenthood. Perinatal mental health challenges are serious and can involve a lot of stigmas. It can affect up to one in five expecting or new mums and one in ten expecting or new dads.

PANDA’s vision is a world where perinatal mental health is understood and valued.

PANDA operates Australia’s only National Helpline for individuals and their families that provides access to counseling and information to assist with perinatal mental health issues.

Dokotela offers telehealth appointments with Psychiatrists, Geriatricians and Psychologists. You see our specialists by a secure video conferencing platform. Some face to face appointments are also available in certain areas. The Dokotela platform facilitates access to mental health clinicians where and when you need them. Their clinicians are independent professionals with broad expertise. Psychologists are not doctors. Rather they are professionals who have studied human behaviour, including how people think and feel. A Psychologist can help you by providing therapy and counselling to reduce distress, help manage psychological problems and help you learn to cope with stressful or upsetting situations. There are many different styles of therapy, but the psychologist will work with you to identify the best approach to address your concerns. Some common types of therapy are cognitive-behavioural, dialectical behavioural, interpersonal and acceptance commitment therapy. Psychologists do not prescribe medications. You will need a device with a camera, speaker, microphone and good internet connection.

The Depression-Anxiety Program is designed to help manage one or more mental health issues or a range of symptoms at a time. The Depression-Anxiety Program offers online modules that can help understand the symptoms individuals may have been experiencing across a range of mental health concerns. It will teach strategies to improve wellbeing and mental health. The content aims to provide useful information and to introduce skills that can help manage symptoms and alleviate distress.

Lou’s Place provide Empowering services including Crisis intervention, referrals, innovative trauma-informed programs, free legal advice, supporting clients with court appearances or medical appointments and case management. Lou’s Place also offer a range of Heling activities and programs such as Art, sewing, music, yoga, creative writing, jewellery-making, and health workshops.

This service is provided at multiple locations across the SLHD catchment.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) provide assessment and management of mental health problems affecting school-aged children and young people. The Rivendell residential service provides intensive care and rehabilitation for young people with persistent problems that may affect their ability to participate in secondary school education.

This service is available at multiple sites across the SLHD catchment.

The Acute Care Service is a multidisciplinary team that provides mental health assessment and interventions for people experiencing acute mental health problems. This service is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Canteen’s three-day PEER program provides young people with an opportunity to connect, be supported and to support others through their experiences of cancer.

MindSpot treatment courses have been developed to provide a set of lessons and resources to individuals managing their mental health. Courses are based on well-tested principles of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), shown to be the most effective treatment for reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Courses include online lessons, access to therapists, practical skills and symptom tracking tools.

Hopefield offers professional, evidence-based clinical services including psychological and counselling services, family counselling, psychometric testing, group programs and community education. Specialist services are available through the clinical team to support children, youth and adults as well as families and couples.

Bears Of Hope gives you a dialogue to openly express your feelings without feeling judged, embarrassed or minimised. The following bereavement counselling avenues are available to you at no charge.
Phone Counselling: we respect that every loss is precious, and we are here to support you no matter how far along you were in your pregnancy, or whether your loss was recent or in the past. Phone sessions are 50mins at a time that suits you.Online Counselling: the ability to speak face-to-face with our counsellors using the Go-To platform online either individually or as a couple by appointment.
Online Chat: if you are not yet ready to speak you may wish to write to our counsellor. Through online chat we can discuss your feelings and provide support and grief coping techniques. Many parents find this to be a helpful step before phone support.
Face to Face Counselling

The Aboriginal Mental Health Service is a small team providing culturally appropriate community and health centre based mental health consultations and care.

Community Mental Health Services are distinct from inpatient mental health services, and play a vital role in supporting people between 18 to 65 years old in the community with a severe mental illness and psychiatric disability throughout the recovery process.

Community Mental Health Services support people with psychiatric disability to manage their self-care, improve social and relationship skills and achieve broader quality of life via physical health, social connectedness, housing, education and employment.

Dementia Australia services are available to individuals, couples, families and groups, aged care and community care professionals. They also provide help and resources for people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Dementia Australia deliver services by telephone, or online, to people across Australia, depending on your needs or location. Dementia Australia offers free, confidential, professional counselling for individuals, families, couples and professional carers at all stages of a dementia journey. Counselling is important as it can help you understand what you, or someone you care about, is going through. It can be good to talk with a professional about your: emotional reactions – family and culture – living arrangements – dementia symptoms – changed behaviours. They can speak with you face-to-face, on the phone or via video conferencing.

headspace is Australia’s National Youth Mental Health Foundation, providing early intervention mental health services to 12-25 year olds.
We support young people with mental health, physical health (including sexual health), alcohol and other drug services, as well as work and study support. With a focus on early intervention, we work with young people to provide support at a crucial time in their lives – to help get them back on track and strengthen their ability to manage their mental health in the future.
In everything we do, we aim to meet the evolving and unique needs of young people and those who support them.

Comprehensive Assessment Service for Psychosis and At Risk (CASPAR) is a service provided by SESLHD that provides in-reach into three local headspace centres (located at Bondi Junction, Hurstville, and Miranda) to deliver early identification, care coordination, assertive outreach, and targeted interventions to support the ‘missing middle’ youth population. Largely these are young people who have mental health and recovery needs greater than what can be met by headspace alone but do not require the level of care provided by state-based public mental health services.

Sydney Queer Muslims is a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing social support, education and resources to individuals and families in NSW. The organisation is made up from a diverse range of volunteers, all united by the same faith.We aspire to support and advocate for people of diverse sexualities , genders and intersex status to reconcile their sexual identity with their faith.

The ACAP Psychology Clinic provides a range of psychological services and is committed to providing evidence-based assessments and treatment for the community at affordable rates.

Groups are facilitated by Provisionally Registered Psychologists under the supervision of an endorsed Clinical Psychologist.

Group therapy programs include:

• Mindfulness Based Skills Group
• Managing Social Anxiety Group
• Managing Social Anxiety Group (Adolescents)
• Building Self Compassion

Psychology Video Telehealth For Children, Teenagers & Adults. Connect with an online Psychologist for free from anywhere in Australia.

Beyond Blue’s work is aimed at achieving an Australian community that understands depression and anxiety, empowering all Australians at any life stage to seek help. Many Australians have some experience with anxiety and depression or related disorders, whether it is personal or via family, friends, or work colleagues. Beyond Blue raises awareness, reduces stigma, and ensures people have access to the information they need to ensure recovery, management, and resilience.

If you’re going through a hard time right now, the Beyond Blue Support Service is available 24/7 for brief counselling. Most calls last around 20 minutes.

Beyond Blue counsellors will listen and help you find the extra mental health help you need.

Get free, confidential counselling (local call costs apply).

The Adult Mental Health team is a multidisciplinary team that provides assessment and recovery orientated time limited care for people living in the community who are assessed as needing care coordination. The team will work in partnership with other community services including your GP, and can provide support and education for families and carers. The Adult Mental Health Team can help with your employment and education goals, physical health and everyday activities important to community living.

Relationships Australia provide counselling services that offer a caring, safe and supportive space to talk through any difficulties or challenges in relationships. For individuals, families, and couples. Relationships Australia NSW has been helping people build and maintain safe and respectful relationships for 75 years. By offering services that inform, educate and empower, Relationships Australia NSW seek to spotlight the value of relationships – and support people to give them the time, energy and respect they need to grow and thrive.

It´s a safe and welcoming place for people to access mental health information, services and supports from multidisciplinary care teams over extended hours. Anyone can reach this support for themselves, a loved one or patient.

The Eastern Suburbs Mental Health Service is part of the SESLHD Mental Health Service. The SESLHD Mental Health Service is a publicly funded specialised clinical service, serving a local population of over 930,000 residents in the eastern and south eastern suburbs of the Sydney metropolitan area. Their services are geographically networked in the north (Eastern Suburbs Mental Health Service) and the south (St George and Sutherland Mental Health Service) and provided within both hospital and community settings.

Eastern Suburbs Mental Health Service offers the following services:

• Acute Care Team (ACT)
• Adult Acute Mental Health Inpatient Service
• Adult Community Mental Health Service
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
• Early Psychosis Programme
• headspace
• Mental Health Inpatient Rehabilitation Service
• Mental Health Intensive Care Unit
• Mental Health Rehabilitation Community Service
• Older Persons’ Mental Health Service
• Perinatal & Infant Mental Health Service (PIMHS)
• Psychiatric Emergency Care Centre (PECC)

Mindfulness training helps you realise that body sensations, thoughts and all other experiences, are impermanent by nature no matter how pleasant or unpleasant they are, and training ourselves to not react to them helps us accept and let go of emotions, rather than suffer from them.

Project Youth run lots of FREE programs to help young people to be safe, happy, healthy, and able to make informed decisions. These programs aim to intervene early to reduce and stop escalation of issues and concerns you may have. Project Youth’s Adolescent Family Counsellor (AFC) provides family therapy to young people and their families.

The primary role of this counselling is to explore with families:

• the issues that are creating conflict and tension within the family
• Introduce new information to enable family members to make the changes they need to prevent the risk of homelessness of young people.

Youthblock provides free, safe and confidential support, counselling and health services for young people aged 12-24.

They can offer support, information and someone to talk to about: Your relationships, family problems, School, sex, mental and physical health, accommodation and money, drugs and alcohol, and more.

• Get a better understanding of anxiety and fear and what can be done about it
• Know what to do when your child is anxious or upset
• A whole range of tools and strategies based on proven principles
• Australian program, university-developed by child psychologists
• You choose what works for you – adapt to suit your family, your values
• Videos and fun interactive learning on your phone, tablet or computer
• 24/7 online, at your place, at your pace

We support adult survivors of childhood trauma and abuse, parents, partners, family and friends as well as the professionals who work with them.