LIVE CHAT: Accessing Mental Health Support Online - Thursday 23 April
Please note we are running this chat on Thursday 23 April - not Monday like we usually do.
With all of the changes happening in the world at the moment, we are needing to use technology in so many different ways. Catching up with friends, working from home and medical consultations are just some examples of this.
For some of us, the current circumstances also mean that there are changes with how we are accessing mental health support. Telehealth - accessing health services using telephone or video chat - has been in use for a number of years for people living in rural and remote communities, however is now being used much more widely. This way of accessing appointments provides a lot of opportunity, however at the same time may be new for many of us.
On Thursday 23 April at 7:30pm AEST we will be having a live chat about accessing mental health support online and discussing some tips and strategies online appointments. Looking forward to chatting with you on Thursday night!
@WheresMySquishy i love that gif! amazing 
I've mostly used self-help modules/ apps/ or read through different forums. When there's another person on the other end I tend to overthink it and disconnect before i have to talk to anyone unfortunately 😞 I found these really helpful though in getting myself comfortable about articulating certain things out loud and figuring out what i find helpful 🙂 e.g. mindfulness etc.
My (current/previous?) psychologist rang me yesterday to discuss maybe resuming sessions over phone/zoom and I am super uncertain, so if anyone has any experience/tips they would be greatly appreciated!
Have you accessed telehealth or online mental health services (either now or before COVID-19), how did you find them and what tips do you have for other users?
I know a lot of people have used online mental health services so I'm going to tailor my answer to telehealth. Because I live in a rural area I see a psychiatrist via telehealth, which is done at the Dr's Office via skype. I haven't seen a psychiatrist in person, so I can't compare face to face, but I find it can be very challenging to communicate via video with the psychiatrist. I freeze up and get really anxious more so than I do face to face, and I've had them ring the clinic because they thought the computer froze - Nope it was just me!
Tips: Bring something to fiddle with - it'll help distract from the weirdness of a video chat.
Have some notes written down,
Sometimes I look at the person and other times I take notice of their surroundings and imagine a similar space. Sometimes the difference in room appearance of the call can feel isolating and disconnected, so sometimes noticing their surrounding helps.
@ecla34 for me a video or zoom session can be handy and similar to seeing them face to face, but it does come with tech difficulties as per @WheresMySquishy gif 😛 and it is a little harder as while you can see their face, you can't see the rest of them, so for me, my psych could miss the tension in my body or a shaking leg if the camera isnt picking it up. It's sometimes the small things which make the difference.
@Bee I think those tips are great! 
You're so right about the camera sometimes not being able to pick up on things. Sometimes, you can't tell that a person hasn't taken care of their hygiene, has just got out of bed, that they've been crying for hours, or that their house is a mess if the camera isn't focused on those things. Some of those things can be really important in determining how a person is coping and functioning.
How do you feel after this chat about accessing mental health services online or via telehealth (video, phone)?
How do you feel after this chat about accessing mental health services online or via telehealth (video, phone)?
Honestly a lot better. I feel way more like I know what to expect and how to approach them, which is nice! 😄 It's nice hearing from people who've used so many services that I haven't!
It can be daunting if we've never done it before. I'm happy to help.
And if anyone has any more questions about telehealth appointments please feel free to tag me and I can provide my experience 🙂
How do you feel after this chat about accessing mental health services online or via telehealth (video, phone)?
Pretty good 🙂 about the same really because I was pretty confident in the way I use the available support services.. it was nice to hear other people’s answers to there questions though!
@Bananatime04 oh man I high-key relate to walking into a session and having nothing to say in the moment!
It's like "hi, how are you today?"
"uh good thanks ...how are you?"
awkward silence ensues
I always wish I'd written things down to take in when that happened (doesn't mean I did the nest time though lol)
@ecla34 wrote:@Bananatime04 oh man I high-key relate to walking into a session and having nothing to say in the moment!
It's like "hi, how are you today?"
"uh good thanks ...how are you?"
awkward silence ensuesI always wish I'd written things down to take in when that happened (doesn't mean I did the nest time though lol)
So very relatable @ecla34 !!!
@ecla34bahahahaha I do that all the time!
Have you accessed telehealth or online mental health services (either now or before COVID-19), how did you find them and what tips do you have for other users?
I have never used Telehealth.. I use online mental health services all the time though! I have a weekly session with my regular kids helpline counsellor for about an hour and use beyondblue if I’m feeling down or something has happened and impacted me, between those sessions. And when I’m thinking about suicide, I contact lifeline. Yea I use mental health services a lot.. and of course, I use ReachOut almost every day 
how could I not?
My old gymnastics coach actually gave me contact details for those services! I originally opened up to her when I realised I was having a tough time and she is studying to be a psychologist so she knew where I could get help 🙂 my tip would be setting up with a service that is ongoing (kids helpline or eheadspace) then just knowing that the other services are there if you need support between your chats with that person. Also another tip, when waiting in a web chat queue, they can get busy of a night time so if you feel comfortable calling it would be a lot faster to get hold of them if you’re calling later in the night. But you can have like a movie playing on another screen or music playing while you’re in the web chat queue 🙂 that’s what I do
Those responses are perfect @Bananatime04 ! It's really helpful having insight into different kinds of support and how they can help reduce anxiety around getting help! 
I also loved how you mentioned the community and friendships you can find online as well, that's such an awesome bonus of online services! 😄
There's quite a few to choose from!
There's eheadpsace and kids helpline, which both have online services. There's also chat spaces and/or online groups for the Butterfly foundation and Beyond blue from memory, not to mention services like Counselling Online!
There's a lot of options out there, but it can be a bit hard to find them if you don't know they're there!
We had lots of amazing responses to the first question about online mental health supports, so I thought I would list them all here 🙂 (I hope I haven't missed any)
Talklife is another peer support forum for mental health concerns.
Kids HelpLine (KHL) 1800 55 1800
Life Line 13 14 11
EHeadspace 1800 650 890
Qlife 1800 184 527
Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467
1800 RESPECT 1800 737 732
The Butterfly Foundation 1800 334 673
BeyondBlue 1300 22 4636
MensLine 1300 78 99 78
Forums: Here (Reachout), The Samaritans, Beyond Blue, Sane Forums, Mental Health Forum
Finding Mental Health Apps: The Black Dog Institute finding a mental health app. PsyberGuide
Apps we listed: Mindtools, Beacon., Sanvello (previously Pacifica),
Virtual Assistant / Talking to a bot: Woebot, Wysa, Replika, Youper, InnerHour)
Mental health courses/online programs:
Some other online programs are ecouch, BRAVE-Online, Bite Back and myCompass. 🙂
PsyberGuide is another website I've used to find mental health apps before.
