The Lismore Head to Health hub opened at Southern Cross University just 1 week after the February 28, 2022, flood.

Head to Health is a centre-based service providing assistance for people with mental health difficulties who are looking to make significant changes to their life.

The Head to Health model is for people who require more mental health assistance than can be provided from primary health but less than is provided by public mental health services.

Dione from Lismore Head to Health told the Lismore App, "Research tells us that the mental health effects on traumatised communities can peak up to 6 months after the event, and again at 12 months, marking the anniversary."

"Research suggests the “delayed” trauma response is largely due to people being in survival mode, and not feeling safe to unpack the trauma experienced too close to the event. This fits with who we are seeing at Head to Health, with people continuing to present now to process flood trauma, for the first time." 

"Community cohesion is seen to be the significant driving factor for people overcoming the devastation through working together, shared knowledge, and collective healing." 

"The other issue we are seeing is that many in our Northern Rivers community remain in housing that is substandard, while waiting for government buybacks, trying to rebuild, keep relationships strong and raising children. These cumulative stressors wear people down over time, even if they have coped well previously. We see the cracks start to show in relationship/parenting issues, low mood and motivation, or poor sleep."

"When these pressures become too great, services like Head to Health can step in to hold hope and work with these individuals to see a way through. We work with someone for up to 6 months. Our team consists of a psychologist, mental health nurse, social worker, counsellor and mental health workers offering a variety of treatment approaches. We are local to the area and understand what the community has endured."

Lismore Head to Health is a free service and you do not require a mental health care plan or referral. 

It has a mixed staffing model at present including clinical staff (Clinical Services Manager, Mental Health Nurse, Social Worker, Psychologist) and mental health workers including peer/ lived experience workers.

(The Lismore Head to Health Team - Front row L to R - Emma Schubert (Clinical Operations Manager/Psychologist), Olivia Fleeting (Social Worker), Joss Frewer (Intake and Assessment Officer). Back row L to R - Dione Baird (Intake and Assessment Officer), Kelly Keating (Intergrated Mental Health Coordinator), Rachel Johns (Mental Health Nurse). Missing - Rik Barker (General Manager Intergrated Mental Health Services (NSW)), Nyesha Ellis (Intergrated Mental Health Coordinator/Psychologist), Jodie Munro (Administration Officer)

Staff provide one-to-one appointments with people over the immediate, short (6 weeks) and medium terms (26 weeks). Head to Health staff can also remain engaged when clients are referred to external services to assist them to settle into the new service(s).

The Lismore Head to Health service uses a values-based approach assisting a person to align their actions to their longer-term values. The therapeutic models underpinning the approach are Motivational Interviewing and Acceptance and Commitment frameworks although other modalities/therapies are used as appropriate. In the longer term, an in-reach model is to be developed where external providers can work from the hub to provide complimentary services to clients.

If you would like to use the Head to Health services you can call the Lismore directly on 0482 161 784, call the intake line on 1800 595 212 or drop into the centre or email headtohealth.lismore@openminds.org.

The first appointment either on the intake line or in person is a structured assessment. The second appointment is a collaborative planning session about future change.

The Lismore Head to Health Hub operating hours are Monday to Friday, 10am – 8pm and Saturday 12 – 8:00pm and Sunday, 10am – 2pm.

The Lismore Head to Health Hub is at P Block North at Southern Cross University Lismore campus. (Clients can be walked to and from centre by security guards after hours and on weekends).