As part of Deniliquin Mental Health Awareness Group’s campaign “ We care about your mental health” , we continue to ensure our community is informed about mental health supports that are available in Deniliquin and surrounding towns.
One such program is the MYSTEP to Mental Wellbeing.
MyStep to Mental Wellbeing provides access to free and effective psychological services for people all ages living in the Murrumbidgee region. In Deniliquin, this is currently being delivered by clinicians from Cressy Street Centre.
MyStep to Mental Wellbeing (MyStep) offers a range of mental health supports from health information and early intervention, services delivered face to face and using telehealth, as well as in-reach into residential aged care facilities.
MyStep delivers services within a stepped care model.
Stepped care is an evidence based, staged system comprising of different types of interventions, from the least to the most intensive, matched to the individual’s needs at the time. This is to ensure the right level of support is available to meet individual needs, at the point in time that they require support.
“Simply put, this means that people can access the service at the level of intensity they need at a particular time. Should these need change, the person can then “step up” to more acute, high intensity support or “step down” to less intensive support. The great thing about this is that people can stay within the same service, without the need of going to yet another service, having to go through another intake process, having to re-tell their story or having to navigate the mental health system, which can be overwhelming for many people”, Lourene Liebenberg, member of Deni MHAG said.
The clinicians can help people with depression, anxiety, adjustment disorder, loss and grief issues – just to mention a few.
The MyStep also offers in-reach services into residential aged care facilities who are at risk of developing, a mental illness, such as depression, adjustment disorders or abnormal symptoms of grief and loss. New residents can also receive transition support including psychoeducation for themselves, friends and families.
The MyStep program is delivered across two sectors; the eastern and western sectors.
MyStep Western sector is delivered by Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD). The team in the My Step program covers a very wide area across the region and encompasses the following Local Government Areas (LGAs): Lachlan, Carrathool, Griffith, Leeton, Hay, Murrumbidgee, Narrandera, Murray River, Edward River, Berrigan, Federation, Lockhart and Greater Hume.
As is the case with many health services, there can sometimes be a wait period to access these services, but this should not stop people from contacting or accessing the service.
“People do not need a doctor’s referral to start the process of accessing this service. They can simply call the MPHN (Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network) Central Access and navigation service to have a chat about what is needed to access the service on 1800 931 603”, Mrs Liebenberg said.
For those, who might already have a Mental Health Treatment Plan in place, can fax it to 02 6921 9911 or email to can@mphn.org.au. People can also speak to their doctor about a referral to MyStep and they can then help to initiate the referral process.
Phone: 1800 931 603 Fax: 02 6921 9911 Email: can@mphn.org.au
“Deni MHAG has a website with a range of information on mental health and wellbeing, as well as providing information on a range of services available. We encourage everyone in our community to look at this fantastic local resource. This can be found on www.denimentalhealth.org.au and for those on Facebook can follow our page Deni MHAG”.
Deni MHAG would like to remind people they can call Accessline on 1800 011 944 for support 24 hours a day.
