Better health and ageing for all Australians

Mental Health

Young people and mental health - online youth forum

On 10 August 2011, the Minister for Mental Health, the Hon Mark Butler MP, participated in an online youth forum hosted by the Inspire Foundation through ReachOut.com.

Mental health

. Fact sheets
. Programs
. Publications
. Data
. Consumer and carer participation

. Mental health sector consultation
.. Australian Suicide Prevention Advisory Council
.. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Advisory Group
.. e-Mental Health Expert Advisory Committee
.. Health and wellbeing check for three year olds – expert group
.. Mental Health Council of Australia budget implementation workshops
.. Australian General Practice Network workshop
.. Young people and mental health – online youth forum
.. Mental Health Expert Working Group
.. National mental health consumer and carer forums
.. Access to Allied Psychological Services Expert Advisory Committee
.. Borderline Personality Disorder Expert Reference Group
.. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health Advisory Group

. National mental health strategy
. COAG national action plan
. Links

The aim of this forum was to hear young people's experiences, insights and recommendation about youth mental health service reform. Over 100 young people engaged in the forum session and 583 posts on this issue were made on the ReachOut.com website.

This was the second time Minister Butler participated in an on-line Youth Forum. The first forum was held on 8 December 2010 during his national round of mental health consumer and carer consultations.

The Inspire Foundation is a national non-profit mental health organisation with the mission to help young people lead happier lives. Established in 1996 in direct response to Australia's then escalating rates of youth suicide, Inspire was the first organisation in Australia to utilise the internet to deliver a mental health service. Inspire's flagship program, ReachOut.com, is a proven, effective, early intervention service that engages over 500,000 young people aged from 14-25 every year.