Department of Community Mental Health, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Department of Health Systems Management, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Jezreel Valley, Israel.
Early Interv Psychiatry. 2022 Mar;16(3):302-310. doi: 10.1111/eip.13195. Epub 2021 Aug 3.
To describe clinical and demographic characteristics of youths who seek help at the first Headspace centre in Israel and their families.
A sample of 291 (65%) of the youths (12- to 25-year-olds) who applied to Headspace between March 2016 and June 2018 completed an assessment, including reasons for referral and clinical status; the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, evaluating psychological distress; and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, measuring emotional and behavioural difficulties. Their families reported burden of care via the Burden Assessment Scale.
Of the sample, 75% were between the ages of 12 and 17 years (equal gender distribution); for 45%, Headspace was their first encounter with mental health services. Participants' most-reported referral source was school counsellors (27%), and presenting concern (51%) was emotional problems, mainly depression (18%) and anxiety (16%). Female and older participants had more emotional difficulties than did males and younger participants, respectively. Overall, most help-seekers expressed high distress levels upon entry, and their family's burden was associated with those levels.
This first study of the first Headspace centre in Israel sheds light on and broadens knowledge about young help-seekers of Headspace outside of Australia. It emphasizes the trend across all ages of help-seeking youths with high psychological-distress levels and the role of family and school staff in the help-seeking process. Establishing youth services that improve access and deliver early intervention to a widely underserved population at times of high distress can be a global trajectory.
描述在以色列首家 Headspace 中心寻求帮助的青少年及其家庭的临床和人口统计学特征。
2016 年 3 月至 2018 年 6 月期间，共有 291 名（65%）申请 Headspace 的青少年（12 至 25 岁）完成了评估，包括转诊原因和临床状况；Kessler 心理困扰量表评估心理困扰；和长处和困难问卷，衡量情绪和行为困难。他们的家人通过负担评估量表报告照顾负担。
在样本中，75%的年龄在 12 至 17 岁之间（性别分布均等）；对于 45%的人来说，Headspace 是他们第一次接触心理健康服务。参与者最常报告的转诊来源是学校辅导员（27%），主要关注的问题是情绪问题（51%），主要是抑郁（18%）和焦虑（16%）。女性和年龄较大的参与者比男性和年龄较小的参与者表现出更多的情绪困难。总体而言，大多数寻求帮助的人在进入时表示高度困扰，他们的家庭负担与这些水平相关。
这是以色列首家 Headspace 中心的首次研究，拓宽了对澳大利亚以外 Headspace 年轻求助者的了解。它强调了所有年龄段寻求帮助的青少年都存在高心理困扰水平的趋势，以及家庭和学校工作人员在寻求帮助过程中的作用。建立可以改善服务获取并在高困扰时期为广泛服务不足的人群提供早期干预的青年服务，可以成为全球趋势。
