Reach Out! Innovation in service delivery

With 75% of mental illness beginning before 25 years of age, it is essential that we improve young people's capacity to manage adversity and increase their opportunities for accessing professional help. With its unique ability to connect people to information and to other people, the Internet offers opportunities to engage the 70% of young people with mental health problems who currently are not seeking professional help. Reach Out! is a national Internet-based mental health service for young people. It has been accessed by over 6 million users since its launch in 1998. Reach Out! plays a role in the prevention of mental health problems by: facilitating help-seeking and connecting young people with services, such as general practitioners, and allied and mental health professionals in their local communities; and providing opportunities for all young people to develop the skills and capacity to better understand mental health difficulties and manage adversity, thereby complementing traditional support.