When you reach out, an Open Arms’ team member will:

• Listen with compassion to understand your story
• Give you space to talk about your concerns
• Support your safety and wellbeing
• Connect you with support 

Open Arms offers a range of supports and services, which includes: 

• Individual, family and relationship counselling, group programs, care coordination and lived experience professional peer support

• On line programs

• 24-hour crisis and brief support counselling 

• Information about mental health

• Self-help tools

Our appointment services can be provided in person, phone and via telehealth in most cases.

Step 1

Access Open Arms online

You can access more information about Open Arms’ services on our website. The website includes information about where our offices are located, our Model of Care, and resources and tools that can support your mental health and wellbeing. If you use our online contact form, we will contact you by phone or email.

Step 2

Contact Open Arms by telephone

You can call Open Arms 24/7 on 1800 011 046. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 000.

After a brief recorded message explaining how we will protect your privacy, an Open Arms’ team member will ask you how we can help.

Step 3

We get to know you

When you contact us, we will ask some questions to understand your concerns including whether you are worried about your own or another person’s safety. The information we gather at this step also helps us to make sure that we are the most suitable service to support you. We will explain what services are available and talk you through next steps.  If Open Arms cannot provide a suitable service, we will aim to connect you with the service you need.

If you are calling to seek mental health support, a member of our clinical team may need to call you back. During this 10 to 20-minute call, the clinician will check your eligibility and ask some questions to get to know a bit about you and how we can help. 

If you are ringing to request things such as a change of appointment or update personal details, in most cases the Open Arms’ worker that answers your call will be able to assist you right away.

Step 4

We connect you with a service

After we understand your circumstances and needs, if Open Arms is the most appropriate service for you, we will connect you with the Open Arms’ office nearest to you.  Your local Open Arms office will then use the information you provided us when you called to arrange your first appointment.  You will receive a letter from us confirming the service being provided (counselling, peer support, care coordination and/or group program). With the letter we will include a Privacy Consent Notice form for you to complete, and information on your Rights and Responsibilities as an Open Arms’ client. In some cases, we may have sent these to you before the letter.

In most cases, your first appointment will be within 4-6 weeks. Counselling and peer work sessions will generally be about 50 minutes. These may be longer or shorter depending on the circumstances. Groups are scheduled and you will be informed when yours is due to start. We want to connect in a way that works best for you, and we will offer you a choice to attend in person (note that in-person is not available in some parts of Australia) or via videoconference (telehealth). You can also change your preference at any time, and we will try to accommodate this wherever possible. 

Step 5

We connect you with a service

While you are waiting for your first appointment, you may want to learn more about what you’re experiencing and access the self-help tools on the Open Arms website. You can also call 1800 011 046 for brief counselling support. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 000.

Step 6

What happens at your appointments

During your appointments, together with your counsellor, care coordinator or peer worker, you will discuss what is happening for you or your family. We will work with you in your first three appointments to set goals to guide counselling, care coordination or peer support. 

Your worker will also discuss confidentiality and privacy with you, and we will ask you to sign a Privacy Consent Notice. As part of this, we might identify some people around you that you want us to work with to support you. These may include carers, your family, your GP, or other health professionals in your team.

Open Arms appointments will generally be 50 minutes each, although sometimes a shorter or longer session is appropriate. Time between appointments is typically fortnightly although this can be longer or shorter, as needed. Group programs run to a set schedule, and this will depend on the group you are registered for.

Step 7

How can you get the most out of your Open Arms support?

Practising new skills and strategies or testing new ideas and approaches between counselling, peer work or care coordination sessions helps you to get the most out of your sessions. All care plans will assume the active involvement of both you and your counsellor. Applying what you learn and testing these new skills and strategies in real-life situations allows you to find what works best for you and build confidence. It also helps you to identify challenges or barriers that you can explore with your Open Arms’ counsellor, peer worker or care coordinator.  

Regular attendance is important. It helps you to build momentum and maintain focus on your goals. It also provides you with opportunities to test, adjust and fine tune the changes you want to make. Progress can be quick or gradual, and regular attendance helps you to stay connected, supported and on track with your wellbeing and recovery journey. 

Step 8

We review your goals and progress, and plan next steps together 

In your first few appointments, you and your counsellor, care coordinator or peer worker will work together on setting goals.  These goals will be reviewed together throughout your episode of care with us. To support your recovery and autonomy, part of this discussion will include how to best achieve your goals and planning for closure. 

Many people who come for counselling find they do not need more than 10 sessions. If you and your Open Arms’ worker agree that you need more than 10 sessions, you will work together on revisiting your goals and your care plan.   

When you are nearing the end of your Open Arms service, we will work with you on an exit plan. Exit planning is a collaborative discussion, focused on promoting independence in your recovery and using the strategies and skills you have developed. We will also let your treatment team know, including your GP. When you do end your service, we will send you a link to complete a survey about your experience with Open Arms.

Non-liability healthcare

If you are a former serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) member you may also be able to access mental health care, including psychiatry assessment and treatment, through DVA’s Non-Liability Health Care arrangements.

What if my family members needs support?

If you are worried about somebody in your life, you can contact Open Arms. The partners and children of a current or former serving ADF member from the Vietnam War onward are eligible to access Open Arms’ services, independently of the member. Former partners are eligible within 5 years of separation or while co-parenting a child under 18 years of age with a member.  Parents and siblings may also be eligible for Open Arms support where the ADF member has died in a service-related incident or from suicide. 

Reservists with one day continuous fulltime service (CFTS) and those without but who have rendered border protection or disaster relief service or been involved in or witnessed a serious training accident, and their immediate families are also eligible.

Eligible family member(s) can phone Open Arms on 1800 011 046 to access services.

Why would Open Arms want to contact my GP?

Your GP or General Practice Clinic is often at the centre of your health care and needs to be aware of the supports you have in place. Open Arms provides community-based counselling, psychological treatment, education and lived experience professional peer support within the broader health and mental health systems. We partner with other healthcare providers such as your GP and other community and health services to provide holistic care. In a crisis Open Arms can work with your GP and other treating specialists and emergency services to help you to access crisis mental health support. 

A helpful one-page overview is available for download below.

See also