“Head to Health centres and satellites, collectively referred to as sites, are designed to provide a welcoming, low stigma, soft entry point to engagement, assessment and treatment for people who may be experiencing distress or crisis, including people with conditions too complex for many current primary care services but who are not eligible for or who need more timely care than that available from state or territory public community mental health… It will assist adults seeking help in times of crisis, or as needs emerge, to have access to on-the-spot care, advice and support provided by mental health professionals – without needing a prior appointment.” – Department of Health, 2021. 

Head to Health does not operate from a hierarchical service model; rather, its holistic and collaborative approach to mental health involves the learned expertise of various health professionals as well as the lived expertise of the people who access its services., the team is diverse, comprising individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, peer workers with lived experiences of mental health, social workers, psychologists, clinicians specialising in Alcohol and other Drugs (AOD) support, and a social inclusion coordinator focusing on vulnerable groups such as CALD, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and LGBTQIA+ communities. In the Parramatta hub specifically, they partner with local community organisations and stakeholders including employment agencies, councils, NDIS services, libraries, housing services, and schools. The Head to Health hub in Canterbury partners with The Waiting Room, staffed by clinical nurses to support with medication needs, mental health assessments, and more. They also partner with an exercise physiologist to provide services for physical health as complementary to the mental health support they offer. This approach ensures that the service user experiences wrap-around support for any type of interconnecting and overlapping challenges they may be facing.