Reach Out
Encyclopedia
Reach Out! is an internet service targeted at young people that aims to provide information, support and resources about mental health
issues and enable them to develop resilience
, increase coping skills, and facilitate help-seeking behaviour. The site contains a wide variety of information about issues affecting young people in the form of fact sheets, stories, interviews, podcasts and online forums.
. Inspire Foundation also runs several other programs, including Act Now and Beanbag and will be launching Reach Out! US in 2009.
Since the launch of the service, Reach Out! has expanded on services to target more specific audiences. These services now include Reach Out! Central, Reach Out! Community Forums, Reach Out! Teachers Network and Reach Out! Pro. Each of these services often incorporate other areas of the site, especially links to the fact sheets.
tone to appeal to the younger audience. The writing is often broken up into smaller sections or contains lists, and is usually accompanied by an image.
and Life Line
. A number of well known personalities have also contributed by participating in a Clued Up Interview or a Spotlight questionnaire
, such as Missy Higgins
, Jamie Durie
, The Veronicas
and Rove McManus
.
, depression
, relationships
, school
, and sexuality
.
& medication
, and links to directories of relevant services and agencies that can help users locally.
. In this section there is Artwork, Stories and Poetry, contributed both by the site's Youth Ambassadors and other members of the site.
designed to work interactively to help young people explore how thinking, behaviour and feelings interact with each other. A series of real life scenarios allow users to discover first-hand how the way they think and feel can positively influence their behaviour (or vice versa) and the impact this has on the outcome of given situations. The information provided in the game links with information provided on the Reach Out! website through the format of tips and tricks and links to factsheets.
On September 17, 2007 Reach Out! Central launched as a full version game after a successful run with the pilot program with limited scenarios. The current version of the game allows for further expansion in additional scenarios that can be scripted and updated when new information is made available.
Within 2 two weeks of launching Reach Out! Central was nominated and eventually named as a winner in the Changemakers.net Why Games Matter Competition. The announcement of the win with two other games was made on November 8, 2007. The interactive game was the only Australia
n game nominated.
Reach Out! Central also came runner-up in the Health Category of the Stockholm Challenge Awards for 2008. Reach Out! Central was one of the 19 finalists chosen from across the world under the Health Category of the Awards. The Stockholm Challenge Awards is a well known international awards designed to inspire and challenge the information and technology industries to create social and sustainable benefits for individuals and communities through their projects.
share what is happening in their lives, whether good or bad, in a safe environment moderated by staff at Inspire and trained moderators. The forums are not a counselling service but often help to refer young people to information and services. They are also a way for Reach Out! users to connect to each other and find others they can share similar experiences with.
areas in schools.
dealing with young people and mental health by providing an online source of information and resources. The provision of these resources aims to provide a way for a range of professionals to engage young people in the treatment and maintenance of better mental health outcomes.
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
issues and enable them to develop resilience
Psychological resilience
Resilience in psychology refers to the idea of an individual's tendency to cope with stress and adversity. This coping may result in the individual “bouncing back” to a previous state of normal functioning, or using the experience of exposure to adversity to produce a “steeling effect” and function...
, increase coping skills, and facilitate help-seeking behaviour. The site contains a wide variety of information about issues affecting young people in the form of fact sheets, stories, interviews, podcasts and online forums.
History of Reach Out!
Reach Out! was launched in March 1998 as an initiative of the Inspire Foundation to help young people with their mental healthMental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
. Inspire Foundation also runs several other programs, including Act Now and Beanbag and will be launching Reach Out! US in 2009.
Since the launch of the service, Reach Out! has expanded on services to target more specific audiences. These services now include Reach Out! Central, Reach Out! Community Forums, Reach Out! Teachers Network and Reach Out! Pro. Each of these services often incorporate other areas of the site, especially links to the fact sheets.
Writing Style and Tone
The majority of Reach Out! is written in an informalFormal language
A formal language is a set of words—that is, finite strings of letters, symbols, or tokens that are defined in the language. The set from which these letters are taken is the alphabet over which the language is defined. A formal language is often defined by means of a formal grammar...
tone to appeal to the younger audience. The writing is often broken up into smaller sections or contains lists, and is usually accompanied by an image.
Site Authors
Young people have been involved in writing content and information in many areas of Reach Out! However, the service often partners with other health and community service organisations to provide accurate and current information. As the site is only informational, users are referred to phone and web counselling services such as Kids Help LineKids Help Line
Kids Helpline is a free, private and confidential, telephone and online counselling service specifically for young people aged between 5 and 25. Counsellors respond to more than 6,000 calls each week about issues ranging from relationship breakdown and bullying to sexual abuse, homelessness,...
and Life Line
Life Line
A life line is a Neuro-Linguistic Programming concept.Life Line may also refer to:* "Life Line" , episode from the sixth season of Star Trek: Voyager* "Life-Line", Heinlein's first published science fiction story....
. A number of well known personalities have also contributed by participating in a Clued Up Interview or a Spotlight questionnaire
Questionnaire
A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although they are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case...
, such as Missy Higgins
Missy Higgins
Melissa "Missy" Morrison Higgins is an Australian pop singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Her No. 1 albums in Australia are The Sound of White and On a Clear Night , and her Top Ten singles are "Scar", "The Special Two", "Steer" and "Where I Stood". From a musical family in...
, Jamie Durie
Jamie Durie
Jamie Durie is an Australian landscaper and television personality. Formerly a prominent personality for the Nine Network, Durie has hosted a variety of programs for them, mostly "lifestyle" shows, such as Backyard Blitz, Renovation Rescue and The Block.Jamie previously was the host of the Seven...
, The Veronicas
The Veronicas
The Veronicas are an Australian electrorock, pop-punk and rock band. Twin sisters Jessica and Lisa Origliasso formed the band in 1999 in Brisbane. They have their own line of clothing which was released in 2007....
and Rove McManus
Rove McManus
John Henry Michael "Rove" McManus is an Australian comedian, television presenter, producer and media personality. He was the host of the self-titled variety show Rove, and is the owner of the production company Roving Enterprises...
.
Site Structure
Reach Out! can be seen as three main sections to help users easily navigate to the information they seek.Sorting Stuff Out
This section provides information in the form of fact sheets researched and written by Youth Ambassadors involved with the service and health professionals that have partnered with Inspire to provide accurate and current information. Some examples of the fact sheet topics that are covered are drugsDRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...
, depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
, relationships
Interpersonal relationship
An interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships are formed in the...
, school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
, and sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
.
Finding Help
This section gives information about the different types of help available to young people and how to access resources. Users can find information on how to find the best help for them, different therapiesTherapy
This is a list of types of therapy .* Adventure therapy* Animal-assisted therapy* Aquatic therapy* Aromatherapy* Art and dementia* Art therapy* Authentic Movement* Behavioral therapy* Bibliotherapy* Buteyko Method* Chemotherapy...
& medication
Medication
A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine, medication or medicament, can be loosely defined as any chemical substance intended for use in the medical diagnosis, cure, treatment, or prevention of disease.- Classification :...
, and links to directories of relevant services and agencies that can help users locally.
Chilling Out
All the information within this section is contributed by young peopleYouth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
. In this section there is Artwork, Stories and Poetry, contributed both by the site's Youth Ambassadors and other members of the site.
Services Linked With Reach Out
Reach Out! has expanded its website to include several different services.Reach Out! Central
Reach Out! Central is a "serious" gameSerious game
A serious game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The "serious" adjective is generally prepended to refer to products used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion,...
designed to work interactively to help young people explore how thinking, behaviour and feelings interact with each other. A series of real life scenarios allow users to discover first-hand how the way they think and feel can positively influence their behaviour (or vice versa) and the impact this has on the outcome of given situations. The information provided in the game links with information provided on the Reach Out! website through the format of tips and tricks and links to factsheets.
On September 17, 2007 Reach Out! Central launched as a full version game after a successful run with the pilot program with limited scenarios. The current version of the game allows for further expansion in additional scenarios that can be scripted and updated when new information is made available.
Within 2 two weeks of launching Reach Out! Central was nominated and eventually named as a winner in the Changemakers.net Why Games Matter Competition. The announcement of the win with two other games was made on November 8, 2007. The interactive game was the only Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n game nominated.
Reach Out! Central also came runner-up in the Health Category of the Stockholm Challenge Awards for 2008. Reach Out! Central was one of the 19 finalists chosen from across the world under the Health Category of the Awards. The Stockholm Challenge Awards is a well known international awards designed to inspire and challenge the information and technology industries to create social and sustainable benefits for individuals and communities through their projects.
Reach Out! Community Forum
The online forum aims to let young peopleYouth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
share what is happening in their lives, whether good or bad, in a safe environment moderated by staff at Inspire and trained moderators. The forums are not a counselling service but often help to refer young people to information and services. They are also a way for Reach Out! users to connect to each other and find others they can share similar experiences with.
Reach Out! Teachers' Network
Launched in April 2007, The Reach Out! Teachers’ Network connects secondary school teachers with the Reach Out! service by providing classroom lessons on particular issues that young people may face within the curriculumCurriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
areas in schools.
Reach Out! Pro
The soon to be launched service targets professionalsMental health professional
A mental health professional is a health care practitioner who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental illness. This broad category includes psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, mental health...
dealing with young people and mental health by providing an online source of information and resources. The provision of these resources aims to provide a way for a range of professionals to engage young people in the treatment and maintenance of better mental health outcomes.