Community Mental Health
Community mental health services are provided to young people, adults, and older people living in the community who may not need hospital care or who have been discharged from hospital.
There are several ways people can access or be referred to a community mental health service.
These are:
- walking in to one of our Community Mental Health facilities
- visiting an Emergency Department at one of our hospitals
- a GP referral, or
- through the Mental Health Line 1800 011 511
If you have been referred to a Community Mental Health Service, a mental health clinician will work with you to determine what is happening and what services might be most helpful. They will conduct a mental health assessment and, with your consent, liaise with your family and/or carers, GP, and any other relevant service providers.
A mental health clinician is someone who has been trained in working with people experiencing mental health difficulties. They could be a social worker, occupational therapist, psychologist, nurse or doctor. Mental Health Clinicians work together in multi-disciplinary teams to ensure you get the best possible treatment.
The Community Mental Health clinicians provide crisis intervention, counselling, and supportive community-based mental health services and can facilitate admission to hospital or an inpatient mental health unit if required or refer to a more appropriate service in the community.
Some community mental health teams have specialist Aboriginal Mental Health Workers.
Community Mental Health Services are available for
- children, adolescents and their families
- older people – for people aged 65 years and older, or Aboriginal people over the age of 50
- adults.
Community Mental Health Services are made up of:
The Assessment Team who provide crisis intervention and short term managment, either face-to-face, or over the telephone
The Treatment Team who provide longer term treatment from four specialist teams
The Assessment Team who provide crisis intervention and short term managment, either face-to-face, or over the telephone
The Treatment Team who provide longer term treatment from four specialist teams.
A word about the Mental Health Line:
It is not a telephone counselling service. It is there to help people to access Mental Health Services. It is free unless you are calling from a mobile phone. Let the person on the Mental Health Line know, and they will call you back. You can call about a family member or friend, although it is best if the person phones themselves. Sometimes this is not possible, and you can speak to a mental health clinician on their behalf.
Our community mental health teams may see you at other locations by appointment only. Click below to see location and contact details.
- Ballina
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(02) 6620 6200
Ballina Community Health
Cherry St,
BALLINA, 2478
view map - Byron Bay
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(02) 6639 9400
Byron Central Hospital
54 Ewingsdale Road
EWINGSDALE NSW 2481
view map - Grafton
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(02) 6641 8250
Grafton Mental Health Services
175 Queen Street,
GRAFTON, 2460
view map - Lismore
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(02) 6620 2300
Lismore Community Mental Health
60 Hunter Street,
LISMORE, 2480
view map - Murwillumbah
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(02) 6670 9400
Murwillumbah District Hospital
Ewing St,
MURWILLUMBAH, 2484
view map - Tweed Valley
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(02) 6677 3600
Tweed Valley Community Mental Health
Ground floor, Tweed Valley Hospital, 771 Cudgen Road, Cudgen, NSW 2487
view map