Searching for help online is the first step for many people. You might be deciding whether to ask for professional help, or you are looking for ways to self-manage an issue you are experiencing.
The three online mental health sites reviewed here hold trusted, government-approved and funded mental health advice and services and are free to access.
Head To Health
Head To Health is a nationwide mental health resource provided by the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care.
Head to Health can help you find online mental health services from some of Australia’s most trusted mental health organisations.
Head To Health is a good place to:
- Find ways to live a more meaningful life
- Learn what to expect from receiving professional help, including what to bring to your appointment, questions to ask etc
- Find the right support choice for your concern
- Learn more about your diagnoses
Use the Head to Health chatbot to guide you to the solution you are looking for.
Watch this introduction to Head To Heath
Whether you are trying to improve your own sense of wellbeing, looking for help with something that is bothering you, or helping someone you care about, Head to Health is a good place to start.
Visit Head to Health
Headstart
Headstart is a mental health resource connecting you with local service providers and to help you learn more about a condition.
When you first visit the Headstart website you select your suburb. You then get service recommendations available to your region, including services available nationally.
Headstart offers four ways to look for support:
- Answer a few questions to be guided to finding support, including if you are looking for yourself or someone else.
Go straight to support options based on your
- Identity: For example: age, gender, cultural background, sexual identity
- Condition: For example: anxiety, eating disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Challenging situation: For example: addiction, trauma, grief, domestic violence
Services recommended on Headstart are free or low-cost. They are government-funded or accredited to National Standards for Mental Health Services (NSMHS) or similar.
Watch this introduction to Headstart:
Headstart is made possible by the following Primary Health Networks (PHNs) through funding provided by the Australian Government under the PHN Program.
Northern Sydney PHN (Sydney North Health Network)
Visit Headstart
Embrace – multicultural mental health
Embrace focus on mental health and suicide prevention for people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds throughout Australia.
Factsheets are available in 31 languages with information on a range of mental health conditions. Through the Embrace website, you can find community organisations to connect with, mental health services and information on how to access them.
Embrace Multicultural Mental Health is run by Mental Health Australia with funding provided by the Australian Government Department of Health.
Visit Embrace