Intensive outreach in youth mental health: Description of a service model for young people who are difficult-to-engage and ‘high-risk’

Intensive Mobile Youth Outreach Services (IMYOS) were developed to provide specialist mental healthcare to the most ‘at risk’ and hardest to engage young people living in the state of Victoria, Australia.The purpose of this paper is to provide a description of the Orygen Youth Health (OYH) IMYOS, specialising in the treatment of 15 to 24 year-olds living in the northern and north-western region of metropolitan Melbourne, who have severe mental health problems and histories of poor engagement with mainstream mental health services.An outline of the historic context and service development of the OYH IMYOS is followed by a detailed description of the fundamental principles for service delivery and core interventions. A case study is presented to illustrate the application of the treatment model. Finally, the current evidence base supporting the OYH IMYOS model is summarised, together with recommendations for the development of service models for ‘difficult-to-engage’, ‘high-risk’ youth.

Research hjighlights► Description of a youth-specific intensive outreach mental healthcare service. ► Service model is indicated for the most ‘at risk’ and hardest to engage youth. ► Service development, composition, operation and treatment model are explained. ► Current evidence-base for the service model is summarised.