Minister for Mental Health, Matt Doocey, has announced a funding boost for online mental health and addiction support service, Just a Thought, to expand and enhance its range of online courses.
Just a Thought offer 17 digitally delivered, evidence-based therapy courses and have supported over 75,000 New Zealanders since they launched in 2019.
The online courses offer free and quick access to anyone seeking mental health and addiction support, providing an additional support option alongside face-to-face services.
“Hard-to-reach and remote communities can face barriers accessing the help they need and have unmet need. Initiatives like this are exactly what the Innovation Fund was designed to support, and I look forward to seeing this service scale-up and reach more Kiwis in their time of need,” said Minister Doocey.
The Mental Health and Addiction Innovation Fund investment will allow Just a Thought to develop new wellbeing courses helping with things like manage stress, wellbeing and promoting mindfulness. The courses are free and available to anyone.
“For round two applications, we’ve lowered the minimum matched investment from $250,000 to $100,000 to open access to a wider range of providers. This is another example of the Government’s commitment to exploring new ways to fund and grow mental health support, including through coinvestment,” said Mr Doocey.
“As Minister for Mental Health, I am focused on increasing access to mental health and addiction support. The Innovation Fund is one of the ways we are partnering with Non-Government Organisations to deliver innovative projects and initiatives that bring faster access to better mental health and addiction support for communities right across the country,” he said.
