Learn more about Youth Focus
People in work roles that support young people can make a referral for counselling to Youth Focus by completing the referral form.
Youth Focus services across all venues are provided at no cost to young people or their supporters.
Yes, Youth Focus will advise those supporting young people of our response to their referral. Importantly, we’ll provide information about the timing and location of our response, the outcomes of our work and any further referral.
The number of sessions will vary for each young person. If additional support services would be of benefit in their journey, such as Work and Study Support, our Youth Focus counsellor will help connect them to these services.
Youth Focus works with young people aged 12 – 25 in our venues outside high schools. In high schools, students who attend year 7-12 can be referred. We will work with young people and their supporters on finding the care they need, and if we think others are better placed to be of help, we’ll assist in making that connection.
Youth Focus Counsellors work hard to clarify what change is most important to the young people they meet and help get them there as soon as possible so they can head out into their lives feeling more capable. This journey is short for some, and longer for others. Youth Focus will provide what a young person wants and needs, without a pre-occupation with how much it will take.
You can find our locations across WA here.
Youth Focus aims to reduce barriers to accessing services, and we aim for young people to be able to access our services as quickly as possible once they’ve reached out for help. Due to demand, some of our services may have waitlists, but if this is the case we’ll aim to connect them with interim support.
Youth Focus Counsellors in school settings will manage their capacity for new referrals, and be able to advise if they have limitations. If you haven’t been advised of any current limits, please assume that they would welcome additional referrals. Working in teams and using telehealth options always ensures that young people have other potential options when demand gets high.
Youth Focus accepts referrals for young people under the age of 18 without parental consent in schools and other service venues, where a young person makes this request and has capacity to understand the implication and nature of this decision. In a school setting, we ask that a school principal or delegate endorse this request when a referral is made. Please talk to us if you have any questions..
Different health professionals, both allied and medical, contribute different skills and services in the support of young people’s mental health. These differences can be complimentary, and when delivered by working together, can help young people recover mental health more quickly.
Youth Focus Counsellors use psychological and behavioural interventions to support the mental health of young people. If a young person is already seeing another professional for the same mental health complaint (e.g. Private Allied Health practitioner, headspace counsellor), then there is a strong possibility of duplication and over-servicing which has the potential to confuse and over-burden young people and their supporters, so please call us to discuss if you think this may be the case.