A longitudinal study of headspace youth oriented mental health service satisfaction, service utilization and clinical characteristics

Abstract

Aim: This study examined satisfaction with accessibility, staff attitudes, personal outcomes service components of youth-oriented mental health service, Headspace, and those components' associations with psychological distress and functional status at intake, service utilization patterns and demographic characteristics at middle and end of treatment. Methods: Data were collected between March 2016 and June 2018 from 112 participants (12–25 years) who consented and completed at least seven sessions at the Headspace youth integrated-care centre in Israel using the centre's registries and the Youth Service Satisfaction Scale. Results: Headspace participants attended an average of 12 sessions (SD = 3.12), they waited up to 2 weeks for their first intake (n = 57; 73%), after which most were offered a psychotherapy session (n = 80, 71%) within 2 months. Participants' satisfaction with Headspace was above the mid-point for all service aspects. The overall effect for time was not significant, F(1) = 1.14, p >.05. However, a significant increase in satisfaction with personal outcomes was found between the middle and the end of treatment, F(2,4) = 3.11, p