About us

HeadStart is a 7-hour GP training programme accredited for the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care Initiative (BOiMHC). It is an initiative of Children’s Youth and Women’s Health Service, and is currently funded by the SA government through SA Divisions of GP (SADI) to train up to 100 GPs. HeadStart aims to supplement GPs existing skills in assessing and managing children and young people who present with mental health issues, and to capitalise on GPs extensive knowledge about their patients and communities in planning rehabilitation interventions.
GPs learn:

• to make their practice more youth friendly,
• to enhance their interview and assessment skills,
• about planning, applying and reviewing HeadStart intervention techniques,
• about improving collaboration and shared care options with child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) clinicians,
• to negotiate a rehabilitation plan in consultation with the young person, with clear goals that can be measured on review.

 Content and Delivery

The above skills are taught through a combination of didactic presentation, case study, role play, Q&A, and video around depression, anxiety, ‘psychosomatics’, behaviour problems and alcohol and other drugs. Young consumers and carers are involved in the live delivery of the training.

The approach is developmental and family-centred. The emphasis is on

• understanding the child’s (and family’s) predicament more than psychiatric diagnosis;
• making sense of behaviour rather than medicating it; and
• helping young people become ‘good at feelings’ rather than always expecting to ‘feel good’.

On completing training, GPs receive an e-bulletin. The regular Headstart bulletin keeps GPs up to date with the latest child and adolescent mental health information and provides them with quick single page refreshers on information and topics discussed at their training. This information will also be available at our website (www.headstart-gp.com.au). Graduate GPs are also given access to the HeadStart ‘Hotline’, which provides them with immediate telephone assistance from a CAMH clinician. The long-term goal of these measures is to enhance collaborative relationships between CAMH clinicians and GPs.

 Multi-Disciplinary Approach

Initial discussions with GPs and other service providers identified significant gaps in working collaboratively in assessing, planning and reviewing children and young people who present with mental health issues. Therefore, although HeadStart was designed as a GP education programme, it has already evolved into a more multi-disciplinary approach. The majority of registrants have been GPs (in accordance with our funding) but we have had enrolments from school and TAFE counsellors, CAMHS and Drug & Alcohol workers and psychologists.

For more details about HeadStart click here