Our first featured service for 2024 is the SANE forums, an NSQDMH Standards accredited, moderated peer-support for people living with a mental illness or related mental health issues and for their family, friends and other carers.
Who is SANE Australia
SANE Australia is the leading national mental health organisation for people with complex mental health issues in Australia, and for the family and friends that support them. Their aim is to increase access to treatment and support for people affected by complex mental health issues, offering a range of free digital and telehealth support services.
About SANE Forums
The SANE Australia forums aim to provide a supportive community to chat with others in similar situations, share personal stories and get practical wellbeing and support tips. Moderated by health professionals to ensure the environment remains safe and inclusive for everyone, the online forums explore a range of topics for lived experience and friends, family and carers.
The lived experience forum provides a safe space for individuals to share their experiences of living with complex mental health issues and connect with people with like-minded people in similar situations. Discussion topics include:
- Our stories
- Looking after ourselves
- Social spaces
- Something’s not right
- Useful resources
- Special events
- Life after bushfires
- And more
The family, friends and carers forum provides a safe space to share personal experiences of caring for someone living with complex mental health issues, share tips and get support for their own wellbeing. Discussion topics are similar to those above and include:
- Our stories
- Looking after ourselves
- Social spaces
- Something’s not right
- Useful resources
- Special events
- And more
SANE Forums also include a fortnightly peer group chat for people experiencing complex mental health issues and loved ones. Each chat is a guided conversation by peer workers with experience with mental health issues and focuses on a new topic each time.
Who is SANE Forums for?
SANE Forums are designed to support any Australians experiencing or caring for someone with a mental illness.
Is there a cost to use SANE Forums?
There is no cost to participate in SANE forums.
How to access SANE Forums?
The SANE Forums are available online at https://saneforums.org/.
The forums can be viewed without registering, however in order to post to a forum users must register with a display name, password, email address, phone number (optional), and postcode.
SANE Forums Research and Evaluation
SANE Australia has received accreditation for compliance with the National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards as of April 3rd 2023.
SANE has produced a research bulletin on their forums summarising the key findings of an evaluation report produced for the Australian Government, Department of Health, as well as anonymous demographic data on usage from the first 12 months of operation (May 2014 – May 2015). Consumers using the Lived Experience Forum report valuing it as a safe place to share stories about how their lives have been affected by mental illness, and to exchange opinions. Family and other carers using the Forum appear to value it principally as a tool to locate practical support for their caring role. The full research bulletin can be found at https://www.sane.org/images/PDFs/rb19_forums.pdf
About the author
