Child and Youth Mental Health Services

Northern Health does not provide specialist child and youth mental health services.

The Community teams at Hotham Street and Noogal clinics provide a service to young people aged 16 – 25years, who have a mental health condition. The Child and Adolescent team at Broadmeadows provide a service to young people up to 18 years old, whose parent or carer is a consumer of the Adult mental health service.

Hotham Street and Noogal Clinic Youth teams

The service provided by the Youth teams at Hotham Street and Noogal clinics provide early intervention mental health services for individuals aged 16-25. The program aims to reduce the prevalence, impact, and risks associated with psychosis and other mental health conditions for young people, their families, carers, and the wider community. The program addresses a range of diagnoses, including mood disorders, severe anxiety, eating disorders, severe personality disorders, and trauma-related conditions alongside psychosis.

The Child and Adolescent Team – Hume Community team

The child and adolescent team provide mental health treatment and care to children and adolescents up to 18 years of age with mental health difficulties or who are at a risk of mental illness. The child or adolescent must have a parent or carer who is a consumer of the Adult Mental Health Service to be eligible for support. The focus is on early intervention and prevention by working systemically in partnership with parents and carers plus external services involved in the child’s care.

What to expect from the service?

Hotham Street and Noogal Youth Teams

The multidisciplinary Youth teams work with young people and their families to explore their mental health and wellbeing needs, and to develop a support plan to assist the young person to identify and meet their recovery goals. This can include diagnostic clarification, treatment, medication options, development of understanding of experiences; education and specific tailored supports.

The teams work collaboratively with young people and their key supports, which may include family or friends, GP, psychologist, NDIS, school or any other people important to them.

Youth and Adolescent Team – Hume Community team

The team currently includes clinicians, a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and two Psychiatry Registrars. They provide mental health assessment and therapeutic services provided which are developmentally appropriate and evidence based.

Hotham Street and Noogal Clinic Youth teams

The Youth Teams provide early intervention mental health services targeted to the 16-25-year age group, to reduce the prevalence and impact or risk of mental illness on young people, their families, carers and the wider community. The Youth teams sit within the Adult Community clinics and are specifically designed and modelled to deliver youth specific clinical mental health services based on current research and clinical guidelines in the field. The Youth teams have a multidisciplinary staffing profile, including clinicians with a range of skills and expertise in delivering best practice interventions as documented in clinical guidelines.

Our Youth teams offer:

Comprehensive assessment and development of bio- psycho social formulation.
Development of treatment plan and risk management

Inclusion Criteria

Young people with significant level of disturbance, psycho social need or concern regarding risk to themselves or others as a result of mental illness.
Consumers who present as being ultra-high risk for developing a psychotic disorder may be considered
Common presentations may include psychosis, mood disorders, anxiety, eating disorders, personality disorders, PTSD, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.