CRISIS SUPPORTS
In an emergency, call 000 or take your teen/child to hospital
If you need to speak to someone urgently:
Call Lifeline - 13 11 14
Mental Health Triage Service - 13 14 65
Kids Helpline - 1800 55 1800
Suicide Call Back Service - 1300 659 467
24 hour Domestic Violence Crisis Line - 1800 800 098
Urgent Mental Health Care Centre (UMHCC) - 215 Grenfell Street, Adelaide (walk ins welcome 12.00pm – 10.30 pm every day)
Links to Wellbeing - Noarlunga GP Plus Super Clinic Alexander Kelly Dr, Noarlunga (walk ins welcome 5pm and 10pm Monday – Friday for immediate support in times of distress).
An app/program which can help manage safety in the longer term: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/beyondnow-suicide-safety-planning
OTHER CHILD/TEEN MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) - for children up to the age of 16 with moderate to severe and complex emotional, behavioural, or mental health difficulties. 1300 222 647 http://www.wch.sa.gov.au/services/az/divisions/mentalhealth/index.html
Family Well Being - for children aged 5-11 with emotional, behavioural, or mental health concerns living in the Northern or Western suburbs. (08) 8209 0700 https://sonder.net.au/programs/family-wellbeing/
headspace – for children and young people aged 12-25. 1800 063 267 https://headspace.org.au/
Links for Well Being – for young people 16 or over living in Central or Southern Adelaide. (08) 8326 3591 https://www.linkstowellbeing.org.au/
emerge – for young people aged 16-25 who are experiencing mental health issues that are significantly impacting their life. (08) 8209 0700 https://sonder.net.au/programs/emerge/
headspace Early Psychosis – for young people who are experiencing an early episode of psychosis or are at risk of developing psychosis. 1800 063 267 https://headspace.org.au/our-services/earlypsychosis/headspace-early-psychosis/
Child and Family Health Centres (CaFHS) – for children under 3 years old. 1300 733 606 http://www.cyh.com/
Statewide Eating Disorders Service – for eating disorders aged 15 and over. (08) 8226 6000 https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/
Flinders Medical Centre Paediatric Dietetic Clinic – for eating disorders aged under 15. (08) 8204 4302 https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/
Novita – for children with a diagnosis or a disability. 1300 668 482 https://www.novita.org.au/
ONLINE AND GROUP SUPPORTS
Calm Kid Central: Online psycho-education program for 4 to 11 year old children - video courses (including activity sheets and posters)to help them learn to manage frustration, worry, “tricky instructions”, getting along with others, friendships, stress, sadness and other challenging life situations. Includes 24-48 hour access to our panel of child psychologists to provide written answers to parents/caregivers questions. Free for Adelaide based families with a health care card, and/or NDIS funding can be used. Go to www.calmkidcentral.com for information about Calm Kid Central
Our therapy group programs: We have two group programs which may be appropriate for your family: Connect, Coach and Take Charge (group for parents/caregivers of children with “big feelings” and Chilled (group for children who have challenges with feeling frustrated). Go to www.developingminds.net.au/group-programs for information about our group programs.
ASSESSMENT SERVICES
Children's Assessment Team (CAT) Flinders Medical Centre - for specialised assessments of children with complex or multiple developmental problems in three or more areas. (08) 8204 4433 https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/
Child Development Unit (CDU) Women's and Children's Hospital - for Developmental Assessment of children with complex developmental concerns in three or more areas. (08) 8161 7000 https://www.wch.sa.gov.au/services/az/other/allied/childdev/index.html
Gordon McKay Child Development Unit (CDU) Lyell McEwin Hospital - for Developmental Assessment of children with complex developmental concerns in three or more areas. (08) 7485 4109 https://www.wch.sa.gov.au/services/az/other/allied/childdev/index.html
Department for Education (DfE) Student Support Services - usually organised via DfE schools. https://www.education.sa.gov.au/supporting-students/student-support-services
Flinders University Psychology Clinic - sometimes have the ability to provide learning assessments. (08) 8201 2311 https://www.flinders.edu.au/engage/community/clinics/psychology-clinic
SPELD SA – for children with learning difficulties. (08) 8431 1655 https://www.speldsa.org.au/
Autism SA - for Autism assessment. 1300 288 476 https://www.autismsa.org.au/
HOW TO USE GOOGLE TO "FIND" another private psychologist
Other psychologists who specialise in working with and assessing children and teens (private providers) We are unfortunately unable to recommend any individual private organisations as we cannot guarantee the accuracy and availability of private provider lists.
However, here are three options to find a private provider:
- Google: "child psychologist" and "your region". You can then call these private providers to ask them about their services and their wait list. Here are some tips for finding an appropriate service when you google:
You might like to consider the following (by either looking at the website or from phoning the psychologist practice):
The psychologist’s registration and training. Most psychologists will have at least 6 years of training, and should be registered with the Australian Health Practitioners Agency.
A psychologists years of experience in working specifically with children/teens and families. Do keep in mind however that many “early career psychologists” are not only excellent, but have even higher levels of supervision than usual. There is no empirical evidence to suggest that more years of experience necessarily results in better treatment, although of course it may be more or less important for individual clients.
Look at the specific services provided (for example, treatment/assessment/report writing) as not all psychologists provide the all of the above.
Consider waiting times and days of appointments offered to see if this fits with your needs
You might like to read about (or ask the psychologist) how they work with children and families. In general you will want to hear people talk about using evidence-based approaches, (e.g., usually this is a form of cognitive-behavioural therapy for most problems, but may also include other approaches)
- You can also use the “Find a Psychologist” Service from the Australian Psychological Society (APS) - https://www.psychology.org.au/Find-a-Psychologist. This is an online national database that allows you to search for a psychologist based on issues and location.
- You can also Speak to your GP for other referral options.
