‘Decks’ are bite-sized modules of interactive content that encourage young people, family and friends to actively reflect on their own needs, engage in skill building and set meaningful goals to improve their mental health.
headspace consulted with young people, family and friends to better understand how they engage with online content and what they expect from accessing the headspace website. They reported that existing static web content wasn’t meeting their needs and that they wanted solutions-focused, skills-based material to help them handle life’s challenges, without needing to speak to a clinician.
‘Decks’ content is based on modules from the Orygen Brief Interventions In Youth Mental Health Toolkit1 and as such is clinically valid, relevant, solutions-focused and has been used and approved by young people in the headspace network.
The five ‘Decks’ focus on:
- sleep
- staying active
- understanding emotions
- problem-solving
- understanding stress
headspace National acknowledges the development work undertaken by the Sunshine and Glenroy headspace centres, particularly their youth advisory groups, in the creation of the Brief Interventions Toolkit.
With the launch of ‘Decks’ headspace National would also like to acknowledge and thank Alex Parker (Victoria University) and Carsten Schley (headspace Sunshine) for their valuable contribution to the project.
In the near future, headspace National will be releasing a guide that can support youth advisory / reference groups across Australia to create ‘decks’ that work for them, to be published on the National website.
1 Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health (2016). The Brief Interventions in Youth Mental Health Toolkit: A clinical resource for headspace centres. Melbourne: Australia.
