Evaluation of an innovative youth mental health service model – bridging the service gap

Background With rising youth mental health needs, there is an urgent call for new service models that are cost-effective, accessible, and non-duplicative. The Youth Engagement & Treatment Team Initiative (YETTI) was implemented in the federal Eastern metropolitan health region of Victoria, Australia, to deliver tertiary-level mental health interventions within trusted headspace sites, and to provide specialist consultation to their staff. Method Over six years, YETTI supported 981 young people aged 12–25 years (and families/carers) whose severe and complex mental ill-health was beyond the remit of enhanced primary care but did not meet eligibility for public mental health services. Results Pre-post outcome comparisons demonstrated clinically and statistically significant improvements in symptoms and functioning for 67% of the cohort, including reductions in Health of the Nation Outcome Scale Child Adolescent total and scale scores (F = 600.48, df = 1,582, p < 0.001). Further, most consumers (81.4%) reported improved mental health and functioning on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). High satisfaction with YETTI was reported by 90% of consumers with an 84% response rate, indicating a positive impact on young people during a developmentally vulnerable period. Conclusions Overall, these findings suggest that YETTI is an acceptable and effective model in bridging the youth mental health service gap. Future research could examine longer-term clinical, functional and system-level outcomes.