Should headspace Centres Offer Early Intervention for Eating Disorders? Outlining a Key Role for Australia's National Youth Mental Health Foundation in the Roll out of Accessible Care

Background

headspace is Australia's National Youth Mental Health Foundation. There are over 165 youth-friendly multidisciplinary services located in every state and territory across Australia. Considerable Government funds are allocated to headspace centres with the aim of targeting mild-to-moderate mental health disorders for young people aged 12–25 years. Young people present for help for a wide range of concerns including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, peer difficulties and substance use issues. Recent research has demonstrated that a high percentage of young people accessing care at headspace centres are experiencing significant body image concerns and are engaging in disordered eating behaviours. These include dietary restriction, binge eating and purging behaviours such as self-induced vomiting. The headspace centre model includes both general practitioners and mental health clinicians as part of the clinical team. This multi-disciplinary model enables centres to have the basic staffing needed to provide effective interventions for emerging and mild-to-moderate eating disorder presentations. While offering early intervention for eating disorders is within the scope of headspace centres, full integration of eating disorders care into the core business of headspace centres is still ongoing.

Aims

This paper aims to highlight the potential of headspace centres to support the early identification and treatment of eating disorders and outlines feasible strategies for embedding evidence-based care within their existing service framework.

Conclusion

We will argue that headspace centres are well placed with existing resources to provide effective and accessible early intervention for eating disorders to young Australians at risk.