headspace
Chatswood

How do I get help and support for myself?

There are plenty of services available if you are in need of some support for yourself while your young person also receives support. If you are in need of immediate support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. Otherwise, some options could include:
- Empowering Parents in Crisis (EPIC): A community building peer support program for parents & carers of young people going through tough times.
- The Northern Centre: provide counselling, information, advice, case management, referrals and parenting programs & supported playgroups.
- Partners in Parenting: Online parenting program designed to help parents & carers build skills and confidence in supporting young people through their mental health journey. Available on headspace website.
- Relationships Australia NSW: Provides family and couple counselling, alongside various workshops including Tuning into Teens & Tuning into Kids.

How many sessions will my young person receive?

This varies dependent on the young person. We provide short term psychological services, within the mental health care plan model ( up to 6 sessions with the option for an additional 4 if determined by the treating clinician). If we feel that more longer term support is required for your young person after completing an episode of care at headspace, we will support you and your young person with linking into longer term support, to ensure continuity of care where possible.

What are your wait times?

This can vary depending on the service needs and time of day that an appointment is required. Our afternoon appointments are very popular for clients, where as we generally have better capacity for mornings appointments.

I’m concerned about my young person missing school to attend appointments. What options are available?

We can offer early morning appointments prior to school and appointments after school ( after school appointments are quite popular and can get booked out weeks in advanced). We can also work with the school to ensure that there is minimal disruption to your young persons schooling, and can offer support letters as necessary. Our centre offers extended hours at various points in the week as well, with these being Monday 8:30am-7pm and Friday 8:30am-6pm.

Who do I speak to about my child’s progress at headspace?

The young person’s primary clinician is the first point of contact. We are able to provide progress updates provided that we have consent from the young person to share. We are also a family inclusive service, with family involvement being very important to us and we will seek to communicate and include families in the services that we provide where possible.

Who do I contact if I am not satisfied or have concerns about my involvement or my child progress?

We would encourage you to speak to the primary clinician directly about your concerns. If you do not feel like these concerns have been resolved, you can ask to speak with the clinical lead. There is also an option on the New Horizons website to provide feedback directly.

How can I best support my young person through their headspace journey?

You can sign up for your own eheadspace online account, which is filled with useful resources, videos and webinar’s to view. If you feel like you are in need of some additional resourcing to best support your young person on their headspace journey, feel free to speak to their primary clinician who will be happy to assist. Supporting your young person to attend their appointments is also a great way to show you are invested in your young persons care. 

How can I provide feedback on my experience as a family and carer accessing headspace?

We would love to hear from family and friends of young people who are currently accessing or have accessed our headspace services. Your feedback will help us ensure we make our service better for family and friends supporting young people attending headspace. Have a chat with your young persons primary clinician or our friendly reception team who can direct you to our family and friends survey.

What type of clinician will be working with my child?

We have a wide ranging multidisciplinary team consisting of social workers, occupational therapists, youth counsellors and psychologists. We also have student’s, who are trained and fully supervised, to offer intervention and support

If you have a question that isn't covered in the above, or want some more information on any of these questions, please feel free to reach out to us and we will be happy to assist you as best we can.

headspace Chatswood operates an outpost centre in Hornsby and Ryde. If you would like your appointment to be at one of these locations please let our team know and we will do our best to accommodate these wishes. 

Hornsby contact Details:

Phone Number

(02) 8021 3668

TRAIN: Chatswood Railway Station is a short 10 minute walk from the centre

BUS: The closest bus stops are located at Westfield Chatswood and Johnson st, Chatswood.

CAR: There is 2 hour street parking as well as 3 hour free parking at Westfeild Chatswood, which is located at the end of Devonshire St.

DISABILITY ACCESS: There is disabled parking in front of the centre. There is a ramp for wheelchair access to the front door.

Talking to someone at headspace is really easy!

You don't need a referral from a doctor for your first appointment at headspace Chatswood

You, or someone else on your behalf, can contact us directly through a few different ways:

1. Call us on (02) 8021 3668 or

2. Complete the following Referral Form and email it to headspacechatswood@newhorizons.org.au

3. Walk in and visit us

• • • at 30 Devonshire Street, Chatswood

We're open Monday: 8:30am-7pm and Tuesday-Friday: 8:30am - 6pm. We follow up on all referrals within a couple of days. Feel free to contact us directly to follow up with your referral.

***If you need urgent assistance, you should contact Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800, Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511, go to your local hospital emergency department or call 000.

All of headspace Chatswood's services are bulk-billed and free- all you need is a Medicare card.

We do this with the support of our community partnerships and Consortium member contributions.

headspace Chatswood supports the ‘no-wrong door’ approach, and we will always guide you to the appropriate service/s to meet your needs or the needs of those people you are endeavouring to support.

You may sometimes be referred to an external service provider (E.g.: Pathology), and these may incur a cost. These costs will be discussed with you/your family, friend or carer before completing the referral. Alternative options will also be discussed with you by your clinician and/or your case manager.

Most young people share a Medicare card with their family, but if you’re aged 15 or older, you can actually get your own Medicare card.

What you need to do:

1. Download and complete this "Application to copy or transfer from one Medicare card to another form". 

2. Submit the above form at a Medicare or other Department of Health service centre and bring either your:

• birth certificate
• current driver’s licence
• current passport
• non commemorative marriage certificate
• current Australian school or educational photo ID, or
• proof of age card

To find your nearest service centre, follow this link here.

Once you get your Medicare card, create a Medicare online account through myGov and download the Express Plus Medicare mobile app to access a range of services using a secure digital channel.

Presentations

headspace Chatswood offers a suite of presentations that target young people as well as parents, teachers and anyone in the community who might interact with young people regularly.
Designed for schools, educational institutions and organisations working with young people, our sessions promote positive mental health and wellbeing and early help-seeking in our community.

The length and content of presentations can be adapted to suit the target audience.

headspace presentations can cover the following topics:

- Depression

- Anxiety

- Body image

- Eating disorders

- Bullying

- Stress and stress management

- Understanding grief and loss

- General mental health

- Recognising the signs of mental illness

- How to stay mentally healthy

Events

headspace Chatswood information stalls can be facilitated at events including school lunch breaks, sporting carnivals, community events or festivals. They facilitate linkages for young people, parents, teachers,schools and the community to headspace Chatswood. The stalls provide resources, fact sheets, referral information, merchandise and service information. 

Parents, Carers or Teachers

headspace Chatswood also provides parent and/or teacher information sessions. The topics of these sessions are adapted to the needs or wants of the group. Generally they outline headspace Chatswood and what services are available for young people. Parents, carers and teachers are here provided with information so they feel better prepared to support their young people.

In-service tours

headspace Chatswood can provide tours and visits at our local headspace centres for service providers. 

Throughout the in-service tour you'll be provided with an overview of the services, staff and resources on site at this centre, in addition to information on making appropriate referrals to headspace.

Service and Referral Presentations

We provide presentations for groups of staff and/or service providers who work with young people (e.g. teachers, youth workers, school counselors etc).

 *Please note that headspace Chatswood provides educational presentations that are of a general nature and have a health promotion and education focus. We deliver these presentations to promote positive mental health and well-being and encourage young people to do the same. Our Community Engagement staff are unable to provide sessions with a medical or therapeutic focus. As such, any community event requests which might require advice from a trained professional working at headspace Chatswood is subject to limited staff availability.

The headspace Chatswood team are:

• Mike Cummings - Operations Manager
• Billie Kang - Clinical Lead
• Christine Woolcott - Receptionist
• Ryan Usher- Community Engagement Coordinator

Youth Access Clinicians:

• Monika Milanovic
• Lisa Brown
• Eidan Pederson

Mental Health Clinicians:

• Lexie Nebauer - Mental Health Clinician
• Justin Zhu- Mental Health Clinician
• Tristan Williamson- Mental Health Clinician
• Cathy Zheng - Mental Health Clinician
• Anthony Rigney- Clinical Educator
• Dr Kirsty Black - GP
• Dr Gilda Brunello- GP

headspace Chatswood have a range of fantastic consortium partners. These partners assist our centre to offer a range of services for young people to access.

Our valued consortium partners are as follows:

• Headspace Brookvale
• Ku-Ring-Gai Council
• KYDS Youth Development Service
• Lifeline Northern Beaches
• Mission Australia
• New Horizons Enterprises
• Northern Beaches Council
• City of Ryde Council
• Sydney Drug Education & Counselling Centre (SDECC)
• Sydney North Health Network
• Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD)
• The Beach School
• The Burdekin Association
• Uniting NSW/ACT (YESS)
• Willoughby Council

What is Brief BEeT?

Binge eating can get in the way of all aspects of life. Thinking about food and our bodies can take up 
a lot of time and make us feel worried about things that used to make us happy. 

Brief BEeT (Binge Eating eTherapy) is a free and confidential online program for young people aged 
16 – 25 who are living with binge eating. Researchers and people with their own lived experience of 
eating difficulties have contributed to this program, which is offered in partnership with InsideOut 
Institute for Eating Disorders.

Brief BEeT can help you regain your life and get back into the things you enjoy. You will learn new
tools, skills and support along the way.

Brief BEeT (Self help online) can be done by yourself, or as Guided Brief BEeT (In Person) with the 
support of a trained clinician at headspace Chatswood. Learn more about Brief BEeT.

What will I be doing in Guided Brief BEeT (In person)?

Guided Brief BEeT involves completing Brief BEeT modules online and attending weekly sessions 
with a mental health clinician at headspace Chatswood. This program runs for approximately four 
weeks and involves:

• Completing weekly online eTherapy 1-hour modules.
• Self-monitoring and goal setting through a Digital Toolbox.
• Weekly in-person 30-minute sessions with one of our mental health clinicians. 

During your sessions, your headspace clinician is there to answer questions, discuss challenges, and 
work with you to set goals for the next week. They will also review your questionnaires and Digital 
Toolbox entries to monitor how you are going implementing the new skills you have learnt.

Due to the risk of physical health complications, it’s important to see a GP regularly. Let your 
headspace clinician know if you don’t have a regular GP, or if you feel uncomfortable talking to your 
current GP about what’s going on.

How do I get started with Guided Brief BEeT (In Person)? 

To register for Guided Brief BEeT, get in touch and we will guide you through the process.

headspace Chatswood encourages people who have feedback, suggestions or complaints about our services to raise them with us. Your feedback helps us to understand where we are doing well, and where we can improve. 

Who can provide feedback or make a complaint?

Anyone, including young people, their families and friends and the broader community can provide feedback or submit a complaint. 

How can I provide feedback or make a complaint?

You can provide feedback or make a complaint by: Speaking to (or emailing) a headspace employee directly. 

Completing the Feedback, Suggestion & Complaint form at the bottom of this page.

Phoning us on 1300 726 372.

Writing a letter to the CEO (The address is 15 Twin Rd, North Ryde NSW 2113).

I need help to provide feedback / make a complaint 

We can help you to submit feedback or make a complaint at any New Horizons office. Alternatively, you may wish to ask a family member or friend to help you submit your feedback / complaint.

Contact an advocacy service to help you make a complaint (See below for more information). 

Access the Translating and Interpreting Service for assistance. 

We will keep your complaint confidential and only involve those parties who need to provide input into the complaint investigation process. You may also make complaints anonymously if desired.

Will my service and supports be affected if I make a complaint?  

If you have made a complaint or provided feedback, we will use the information you have provided to investigate what went wrong and fix the problem. If you don’t want to provide your complaint directly to us, you may also submit complaints about our services to external complaints bodies, including:  

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (P) 1300 363 992   

Investigates complaints about the quality of services and supports provided by

NDIS Providers Online Complaints Form

NSW Ombudsman - Making a complaint

Deals with complaints about non-NDIS, NSW Disability services, supported accommodation services, home and community care services, child protection services, and out-of-home care services for children and young people please

Phone 1800 035 544 

NIDS Complaints Commissioner Online Complaints Form

Investigates complaints about the handling of your personal information by Australian government agencies and private sector organisations covered by the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act). Please note, this agency will request that your first raise your matter with us so that we can attempt to resolve the issue for you.  

Is there anyone else I can complain to about New Horizons services? 

New Horizons is also committed to continually improving the quality of its services. Feedback and complaint information will be reviewed regularly to help inform how we improve our services. 

What will New Horizons use my feedback / complaint for? 

New Horizons views complaints to help improve our services and will ensure that your service and support are not negatively impacted in any way.  

Is my feedback / complaint private? 

We will keep your complaint confidential and only involve those parties who need to provide input into the complaint investigation process. You may also make complaints anonymously if desired.  

Will my service and supports be affected if I make a complaint? 

New Horizons views complaints as a means to help improve our services and will ensure that your service and support are not negatively impacted in any way.  

What will New Horizons use my feedback / complaint for? 

If you have made a complaint or provided feedback, we will use the information you have provided to investigate what went wrong and fix the problem.  

New Horizons is also committed to continually improving the quality of its services. Feedback and complaint information will be reviewed regularly to help inform how we improve our services.  

Is there anyone else I can complain to about New Horizons services? 

If you do not want to provide your complaint directly to us, you may also submit complaints about our services to external complaints bodies, including:  

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner 

Investigates complaints about the handling of your personal information by Australian government agencies and private sector organisations covered by the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act). Please note, this agency will request that your first raise your matter with us so that we can attempt to resolve the issue for you. 

(P) 1300 363 992 

Online Complaints Form

NIDS Complaints Commissioner 

Investigates complaints about the quality of services and supports provided by NDIS Providers 

(P) 1800 035 544 

Online Complaint Form

NSW Ombudsman 

Deals with complaints about non-NDIS, NSW Disability services, supported accommodation services, home and community care services, child protection services, and out-of-home care services for children and young people 

Making a complaint

FEEDBACK, SUGGESTIONS AND COMPLAINT FORM