Mindlink: A stigma-free youth-friendly community-based early-intervention centre in Korea

In many Asian countries, youth mental health services are not well-developed and access to treatment is generally delayed. Here, we present a community-based service model based on our experience with Mindlink, the first early-intervention centre of its kind in Korea.

We describe the history of this mental health early-intervention service and the characteristics of users, as well as its intervention programmes and research directions. We also propose ways to further develop youth mental health services.

A community-based early-intervention service for youth was first introduced in 2012, when a special team was formed in a community mental health centre of Korea. As the numbers of young clients increased, a youth-friendly, early-intervention centre called Mindlink was opened in 2016. Mindlink targets those aged 15-30 years with mental illness less than 5 years in duration. Its goal is to detect mental illness in young people early and provide comprehensive multidisciplinary interventions. It provides intensive case management and group programmes including cognitive-behavioural therapy, family intervention, psychoeducation, behavioural activation and physical health promotion. The Korean government has officially announced that the Mindlink model is effective and is currently in the process of scaling it up on a national level.

An accessible, youth-friendly, stigma-free, community mental health centre such as Mindlink allows early detection and appropriate management of mental illness in young patients.