Think WISE

Psychological support in Residential Aged Care

Think Mental Health provides psychological services for individuals in Residential Aged Care Homes (RACHs) through our Think WISE service. Think WISE – which stands for Wellbeing Independence Support and Empathy – offers psychological services for individuals in ACT RACHs to help address the needs of this community.

Compared to older people who live in the broader community, those who live in RACHs are disproportionately affected by some mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. As the first-line treatment for mild to moderate mental illness, psychological therapies have been historically limed in their accessibility for residents.

Funded by

This service is supported by funding from the ACT PHN through the Australian Government’s PHN Program

Our approach

Our approach is two-fold:

• We provide in-reach services via an in-facility rostered model of care.
• We build RACH staff awareness and confidence in identifying those who would benefit from psychological interventions.

The focus is on the residents’ emotional wellbeing as well as mental health education for RACHs that will ensure simple referral process and confidentiality for the resident, all within a service that is designed not to put any extra burden on the RACHs, fitting within their existing frameworks and systems.

Think WISE will support RACH residents to achieve better mental health through an initial assessment, referral or intervention, review and discharge, helping to ensure patients’ wellbeing, independence, support and empathy.

Think WISE has been developed through consultation with ACT RACHs and Capital Health Network. The program is in the early stages of delivery, and we are currently working with several ACT RACHs.