Two exciting digital mental health services, e-Friend and MOST, are being launched in Western Australia (WA) this year, reflecting WA Primary Health Alliance’s commitment to innovation in the commissioning of mental health services.
Our Strategic Plan 2023-2026 recognises digitally enabled health care as a strategic goal, and both of these services reflect WA Primary Health Alliance’s intention to support secure digitally enabled health care with partners locally and nationally.
The WA trial of e-Friend is underway, a partnership between Independent Community Living Australia and Mindspot GP, the latter operated by Macquarie University Health Sciences Centre.
e-Friend provides lived experience peer support to help people with their mental health needs. The service allows people who are feeling low, lonely or isolated to access virtual peer support sessions via video or phone call.
This is the first time a combined clinical-lived experience peer approach is being offered within an online clinical mental health service in Australia.
e-Friend is free for people aged over 18 years already participating in a Mindspot GP psychological treatment course and who would benefit from the added peer support intervention.
“We need to keep evolving our approach to digital health care, and the way we commission mental health services as consumer expectations shift and new technologies emerge. Both services offer a more holistic and personalised experience for those who access them, offering online tools and support to help them get back on track in a way that suits them.” WAPHA CEO Learne Durrington
MOST is a free digital mental health support service for young people aged 12 to 25 that provides personalised clinical and peer moderated therapy when and where young people need it, integrating digital care with the young person’s broader care team.
MOST is being rolled out during 2024 and will initially be available to young people accessing WA’s 21 headspace services.
Delivered by Orygen Digital, the technology division of Orygen, Australia’s national centre of excellence in youth mental health research and clinical care, MOST will be supported by a local team on the ground that will work closely with WA’s headspace Lead Agencies and local stakeholders.