Orygen Specialist Program manage all referrals through the Triage/Intake team. Their role is to gather comprehensive information about the reason for the referral and to then talk with the referrer, and where possible the young person, about what help is available.
Call toll free: 1800 888 320 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Pager service: phone 9483 4556 ask for YAT Triage Service, leave your name and contact number and someone will call you back.
Non emergency referrals wait for normal business hours (9.00 am - 5.00 pm Monday to Friday).
If an interpreter is needed for the young person or their family, Triage staff can arrange a Telephone Interpreter for phone calls: please inform staff as early as possible.
Some of the questions asked by Triage/Intake may include:
- Demographics (for example: name, date of birth, address, next of kin)
- Does the young person, their family or guardian know about the referral? If not, why not? If they know about it, how do they feel about it?
- Nature of the problem
- Changes in emotions, for example: mood swings; more depressed than usual; unusually happy mood for several days; tearful; irritable/agitated; fearful; anxious
- Changes in thinking, for example: changes in concentration and memory; not making sense in conversation/writing; hearing voices or noises; unusual beliefs that are out of context
- Changes in behaviour, for example: withdrawn from family/friends; harming self; preoccupied; poor self care; change in performance at school or work
- Physical symptoms, for example: changes in eating/sleeping
- Degree of risk to self or others, for example: thoughts of suicide; plans; actions
- Family history of mental illness
- Drug use
- Offending behaviour
- Available supports
- Previous mental health treatment
- Why are you referring now?
When answering questions about the deterioration in a young person’s mental health it is useful to know that the Triage/Intake worker will ask you how long this has been happening, how often, how intense and how does it affect daily functioning?
If Orygen is identified as being a suitable service to provide an initial assessment, then it will be arranged with a mental health professional from the Youth Access Team (YAT). The urgency of the situation will determine if this assessment is scheduled for a routine or urgent appointment.
If a GP has not referred you to Orygen, you should make every effort to attend your GP for a mental health assessment and care plan, before attending your first Orygen Specialist Program appointment.