CAREinMIND™ mental health services
North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network (NWMPHN) commissions free mental health services for people in its region through its CAREinMIND providers.
GPs and other health and community service professionals can use our referral form to refer a patient to CAREinMIND and other services in our region.
Who is eligible?
CAREinMIND can provide free mental health services for people of all ages who:
- cannot afford (or are ineligible for) other local services
- are experiencing mental health stress from mild to severe
- live, work or study in the north western Melbourne area.
If a patient is ineligible for CAREinMIND services, our referral and access team can allocate them to another clinically appropriate service using the same referral form.
What services are available?
CAREinMIND providers deliver:
- Wellbeing Support Services: for lower-intensity needs. Phone and online counselling available 24/7. Visit careinmind.com.au or call 1300 096 269 anytime.
- Targeted Psychological Support Services: for mild to moderate mental illness, up to 12 sessions.
- Intensive Support Services: for people experiencing more severe mental illness and requiring more intensive support.
- Suicide Prevention and Support Services: for people at risk of suicide or self-harm, who receive up to 8 sessions. This is not an acute or crisis service.
Use our interactive System of Care tool for more information on these and other services we commission.
What is the referral process?
Referring is simple: there is a single form to complete. Download it here, selecting the right format for your medical software.
This form meets the minimum requirements for billing a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP), therefore GPs are not required to attach a separate MHTP.
To make a telephone referral, or for advice on any aspect of a referral, speak with our referral and access team by calling us directly on (03) 9088 4277, between 9am and 5pm on business days.
Referrals are assessed and prioritised, based on a person’s clinical needs, then allocated to an appropriate, experienced mental health practitioner.
Please note that if referrals are incomplete or ineligible, they may delay your patient’s care. Our team will contact the referrer with a request for more information or recommendations about alternative services.
Visit our referral and access page for more information on the referral process.
Can young people be referred to CAREinMIND?
GPs, psychiatrists, paediatricians, school principals, school counsellors, maternal child health nurses and early childhood staff can refer children and teenagers to CAREinMIND services.
Referral enquiries
Our mental health referral and access team is available Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm on (03) 9088 4277 to assist with any questions about referrals. The team can also be contacted by secure fax on (03) 9348 0750 or email to referralandaccess@nwmphn.org.au
For enquiries about our Suicide Prevention and Support Service, referrers can contact On the Line, who manages intake and assessment for this service only. On the Line’s phone number is 1300 032 192 and its secure fax number is (03) 8080 8948. On the Line is available every day from 7am to 9pm.
You Said…™ sharing experiences improves our care.
You Said… is a survey tool that allows people to report their experience of the care they receive, and the outcomes of that care. The tool allows health services to collect, measure and evaluate this feedback.
