Mind Australia has partnered with Clean Slate Clinic to provide accessible and tailored support for people experiencing mental health challenges and/or seeking support for Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) dependence.
People will now be able to access detox and recovery support from Mind’s Allied Health team and Clean Slate Clinic’s nurses and addiction specialists via their private health insurance.
Mind’s Allied Health team assists people experiencing mental health challenges with tailored plans built around individual recovery and provides flexible support options to people in their homes, in the community and online.
Clean Slate Clinic provides an innovative and tailored approach to supporting people through addiction and recovery that focuses on accessibility through telehealth. This model of care allows people to detox and recover safely from the comfort of their homes.
Leana Schepis, Digital Marketing Executive at Clean Slate Clinic, says the partnership is helping to address a gap in the Private Health Insurance market for support services.
“This direct relationship provides a streamlined approach for service users, all completely covered by their private health insurance. This enables clients to access our AOD recovery program before being directly referred to Mind for specialist mental health support, and vice versa; eliminating the often frustrating and fragmented nature of seeking support from multiple services” Ms Schepis said.
“The connection between AOD and mental health is well-documented, with the World Health Organisation reporting that the risk of depression doubles for those who experience alcohol dependence. Our own data further supports this research, with 80% of our clients experiencing co-occurring mental health disorders, as reported in our internal surveys - so there’s definitely a clear need for integrated support services.
“People can access our service from the comfort of their home via telehealth, which makes a big difference to people in rural areas, and the program is fully funded through their private health insurance, removing that financial barrier.
“This integrated model of care with Mind allows us to continue providing the specialist care that we pride ourselves on and refer clients seeking additional mental health support over to Mind’s team of experts. We’re incredibly excited to be working with Mind for the Australian Health Service Alliance’s pilot program and know that integrated, holistic care will make a difference in the lives of many Australians.”
Mind Executive Director of Research, Advocacy & Policy Development, Nicola Ballenden, says this partnership model matches Mind’s approach to innovation in the sector and will help to reduce hospitalisations for people experiencing mental health challenges.
“Mind is already actively engaged in the private health insurance space to offer an alternative to hospitalisation, and through this partnership we can provide holistic support so people can get well, and then have the skills and capacity to stay well,” Ms Ballenden said.
“Mind has the skills and expertise to help people with mental health challenges, but we aren’t specialists in AOD detox and recovery like Clean Slate Clinic are. They have a team of addiction medicine specialists, GPs and nurses to assist through the program.
“We have a shared value as organisations; to find new ways to solve problems and innovative solutions that are feasible and tailored to people’s needs. We are now offering this partnership from the start of future private health insurance programs to ensure our service users are getting the support they need, and we are excited to see this partnership grow.”
Find out more information about our Allied Health services, or contact us by submitting a form via Mind Connect or phone: 1300 286 463.