Welcome to SANE's Guided Recovery

To be eligible for SANE’s guided recovery program, you must have complex mental health needs or be caring for someone who does, be over 18 years of age, and live within Australia.

Complex mental health issues are impactful, severe, enduring, or episodic. They can involve high levels of psychological distress, exposure to trauma, and/or conditions such as schizophrenia, personality disorders, and bipolar disorder.

We also welcome people with intellectual disability, autism or acquired brain injury who require mental health support.

You also need reliable telephone access to receive telehealth appointment calls from us, and internet access to log into your participant portal and participate in mental health recovery groups.

We created the guided recovery program after extensive consultations with people with complex mental health issues, SANE’s experienced counsellors, Peer Ambassadors and peer support workers, and many experts and organisations in the mental health sector. They spoke of the need for a service that filled in the gaps in support, integrating counselling and information services with public health services. With more than 36 years of delivering peer-led mental health services, SANE was uniquely placed to join with Primary Health Networks to create a service that gives participants the support and skills to better manage their mental health issues.

The service was co-designed with ALIVE – The National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation – to meet the highest standards of care.

All SANE services follow the CHIME framework, which focuses on five major themes as important to mental health recovery: Connectedness, Hope and optimism, Identity, Meaning and purpose, and Empowerment. Every aspect of the guided recovery program has been created with these attributes in mind.

As part of our commitment to continuous quality improvement, SANE has evaluation processes in place to monitor the effectiveness of the program, including asking users for their feedback and suggestions.

SANE offers different types and levels of support to people over 18 years of age with complex mental health needs, and their family, friends and carers.

Our self-guided options include RecoveryClub, 24/7 community forums, online groups and events, and online information and resources. 

Our guided recovery program is a psychosocial support program. It's unique in that it provides additional one-to-one support centred around a personalised mental health recovery plan and is coordinated with other mental health supports - both within and outside of the SANE community.

Psychosocial support in the Guided Recovery program provides practical help with managing the emotional and social challenges of mental health issues. It includes talking to people who get what you’re going through, developing skills for daily life, work, and education, building coping strategies, and establishing and strengthening social connections and support networks.

To learn more about the services we offer, visit sane.org/get-support.

Yes, if feel you would benefit from guidance and a personalised recovery plan to help you achieve your mental health goals, you can register or be referred to the guided recovery program.

Similarly, after completing your recovery plan through guided recovery, you can continue to support your mental health recovery by utilising our range of self-guided support services, including the RecoveryClub program, our 24/7 community forums, online groups and events, and online information and resources.

The guided recovery program combines SANE's established mental health services and personalised support with your existing mental health network, including your GP and Primary Health Care providers. It provides pathways and transitions into a range of community supports and services.

Our healthcare system often leaves people with complex mental issues separated from the support they need. Sometimes they don't know what services are available or cannot access them. Sometimes they feel overwhelmed by choices and conflicting information.

Because of our experience in peer-led digital mental health services, we can be the much-needed bridge between people and the primary care and psycho-social help they need.

The guided recovery program includes:

• A welcome call to introduce you to SANE and the community, walk you through the program format and answer any questions you might have. We'll also get to know you and understand your needs and preferences (including whether you'd prefer counselling or peer support sessions), and how we can best support you to achieve your desired outcomes.
• A recovery planning session to talk about your needs and set personalised goals for your mental health recovery.
• Fortnightly mental health recovery groups. You'll also have the option to join our twice-monthly LGBTQIA+ group.
• Fortnightly individual counselling or peer support sessions (depending on which option you choose). Individual sessions are held on alternate weeks to your mental health recovery groups.

Immediately after submitting your referral, you'll receive an email confirming receipt of your referral.

A member of our welcome team will then review and process your referral within 48 hours (Mon-Fri), and will send you an email confirming your acceptance into the program.

In exceptional cases, our welcome team may reach out for a conversation to ensure the program aligns with your needs and expectations. If, during this discussion, you determine that the program isn't the best fit for you, our team member will guide you to alternative support options. This may include exploring other SANE support services or providing resources to help you discover additional mental health supports in your local area. 

You'll need to follow the instructions in your program acceptance email to access your Participant Portal and provide consent to the program guidelines in order to get started with the program. The participant portal is your private space, that contains your personal recovery plan, a schedule of upcoming appointments and events, and other important resources as part of your participation.

Within 48hrs (Mon-Fri) of accepting your referral, we'll call you to conduct your welcome call. If we can't reach you, we'll send an SMS and email, asking you to get back to us. We'll try again in a couple of days, but if we haven't been able to connect with you within 7 days of receiving your referral, we'll close your referral and send an email explaining how you can easily rejoin the program when you're ready to participate. This process allows us to maintain a reliable service and provide quick access to mental health support for those who need it. 

During your welcome call, we'll get to know you and orient you to the 15-week program. We'll gain an understanding of your needs and preferences, including whether you'd prefer individual counselling or peer support sessions. We’ll also set up a time for your recovery planning session.

In your recovery planning session, your dedicated counsellor or peer support worker (depending on which option you chose in your Welcome Call), will help you create practical mental health recovery goals, based on your individual situation and needs. Personalised recovery planning is designed to help broaden your skills, achieve your personal goals, and develop greater self-confidence. 

Next, you'll start attending fortnightly online mental health recovery groups led by senior peer support workers. Groups are held online using Zoom, with a small group of guided recovery participants and 1-2 support workers. They run for 40 minutes and cover different mental health recovery topics like goal setting, connection, coping skills, hope and optimism, identity, physical health, meaning and empowerment, and more. You'll also have the option to join special interest groups, like our twice-monthly LGBTQIA+ group.

In the following week, you'll also start fortnightly individual counselling or peer support sessions. The individual sessions fall on alternate weeks between your fortnightly mental health recovery groups and are tailored to help you work towards the goals set out in your recovery plan. 

Fortnightly individual sessions and mental health groups will continue on alternating weeks, for the remainder of the program, helping you work towards your mental health recovery and personal goals, building connections and supports, and planning for the future.

At the end of the program, your support team will help you transition out of guided recovery and access SANE’s large online peer support community for ongoing support.

Both counsellors and peer support workers aim to help support you to manage your recovery. While we don’t deliver diagnosis and medical treatment, SANE's qualified counsellors and peer support workers can support you to identify the barriers to recovery and problem solve how to overcome them, develop recovery and safety goals and plans, take steps towards managing symptoms and improving coping skills.

SANE’s qualified counsellors use a strength-based approach that helps you build upon personal skills and resilience, increase self-confidence, facilitate reflection and develop strategies for achieving personal goals and maintaining health and wellbeing. They use widely accepted evidence-based counselling techniques. SANE counsellors are specifically trained in complex mental health issues and will collaborate with you to improve your mental wellbeing and achieve the personal goals in your Support Plan.

SANE’s professionally trained peer support workers provide support based on shared experiences of complex mental health issues. Peer support relationships are different from traditional clinician-patient relationships and are not based on medical models. Instead, peer support provides mental health benefits through empathy, acceptance, and skill-sharing that comes from dealing with similar (but not necessarily the same) lived experiences.  Peer support workers aim to support people wherever they are in their recovery and focus on a person's strengths to develop hope, resilience and wellbeing strategies.

At the start of your guided recovery participation, you’ll have the option of choosing to work with a SANE counsellor or peer support worker. After establishing your personalised recovery plan, you’ll have fortnightly appointments with your counsellor or peer support worker to help you work towards the goals set out in your recovery plan.

You can register yourself or a referral can also be submitted on your behalf by a health professional, close family member, carer, or referral organisation using our online referral form. Note: People require your informed consent to submit a referral on your behalf.

You'll receive an email confirming receipt of your referral as soon as we receive it. 

A member of our welcome team will then review and process your referral within 48 hours (Mon-Fri), and will send you an email confirming your acceptance into the program.

In exceptional cases, our welcome team may reach out for a conversation to ensure the program aligns with your needs and expectations. If, during this discussion, you determine that the program isn't the best fit for you, our team member will guide you to alternative support options. This may include exploring other SANE support services or providing resources to help you discover additional mental health supports in your local area. 

You'll need to follow the instructions in your program acceptance email to access your Participant Portal and provide consent to the program guidelines in order to get started with the program. 

Within 48hrs (Mon-Fri) of accepting your referral, we'll call you to conduct your welcome call. If we can't reach you, we'll send an SMS and email, asking you to get back to us. We'll try again in a couple of days, but if we haven't been able to connect with you within 7 days of receiving your referral, we'll close your referral and send an email explaining how you can easily rejoin the program when you're ready to participate. This process allows us to maintain a reliable service and provide quick access to mental health support for those who need it. 

You must have reliable internet and telephone access to participate in the guided recovery program.

The welcome call, recovery planning call and fortnightly appointments are all conducted by telephone. An internet connection is required to access your participant portal and attend fortnightly mental health recovery groups. An active email account is also required to receive important communications and appointment-related notifications.

Adjunct supports, including SANE's online peer support community, chat groups, and online tools and resources, are all accessed via the SANE website and require internet access.

Why does the guided recovery program only last for a limited period?

The guided recovery program is not designed to be permanent, full-time support, nor is it suitable for handling severe mental health crises. Rather, it is designed for you if you would benefit in the medium term from the structure of a tailored plan, supported by a dedicated team, to help you navigate your mental health journey. At the end of the service period, you will be a long way on your recovery path, with the connections, knowledge and skills to self-manage your mental health in the future.

Can I leave the guided recovery program before the scheduled period?

Yes, of course. The program is entirely voluntary. You can leave at any time. You might find you no longer need the program, or it turns out it is not for you. In such a case, your support team will help you transition out of the program with all the appropriate supports in place.

What if something happens and I need to stop my participation? 

We understand things can sometimes get in the way, and that’s okay. You can choose to stop your participation at any time and rejoin when you are ready. Because we already have your information on file, rejoining is quick and easy, and there's no issue in trying again at a more suitable time for you, or even trying multiple times.

At the end of my time in the guided recovery program, what will I have achieved?

After many weeks of personalised support, you will find yourself a long way on your recovery journey with a recovery plan that you can take with you to continue working on your goals. You will have learnt how to better manage your mental health and navigate a path through the complex health system. You will have networks of support and know how to access them when you need them. We’ll support you in transitioning to increased self-management of your mental health.

What if, at the scheduled end of my guided recovery program, I’m not ready to leave?

We know leaving the service after weeks of support, connection and structure can be scary, but we will be there to help you transition to a self-managed model. Many of the SANE's supports and activities you have enjoyed will still be there for you to use when you need them. Many of the relationships and connections you’ve made can be maintained into the future, while the knowledge and skills you have picked up, especially about how to access the help you need when you need it, will always be with you.

I work in mental health care: how do I know if the guided recovery program is suitable for my client?

At the stage of referral, all you need is a belief they would benefit from a tailored plan and personalised support. But there are categories of people with complex mental health issues for whom we have designed this service:

• People with mental health issues too complex for GP mental health plan management alone.
• People stepping down from hospital into the primary care system.
• People waiting to access psychological support through a Mental Health Treatment Plan.
• People whose complex mental health needs a more nuanced understanding than their current services can provide, particularly in rural and remote areas.
• People who receive National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) support for their disability but not for mental health needs.
• People who have limited formal and community support networks.

I am a health worker and one of my clients would benefit greatly from the tailored, one-on-one support of guided recovery, but I cannot persuade them to take part. Can I refer them anyway?

No, the guided recovery program needs the informed consent of participants. However, if you call us on 1800 187 263, our team can tell you about other services your client can use, including those offered by SANE.

I support someone with complex mental health issues. They would find it difficult to manage a program online, can I help them manage their participation?

Absolutely. The guided recovery program is designed to accommodate and encourage the involvement of support people.

Please ensure you have obtained the participant's informed consent before submitting a referral on their behalf.  Once they have been accepted into the program, participants can easily add support people through their online participant portal. If needed, our Welcome Team is also available to assist in setting this up for them.

It's important to note that if you intend on attending appointments together, both of you will need to be in the same location during the appointment.

If you have further questions or need guidance, you can email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

I support someone with complex mental health issues and am finding it difficult to cope. I need support. Can I take part in the guided recovery program?

Yes, we can put a support plan in place that is tailored to you as a carer.

I am worried about filling out online forms and putting personal information on SANE’s website. How can I be sure that what I tell you is kept safe and confidential?

Your confidentiality is important to us, and keeping personal information safe is our priority. 

SANE has a strict privacy policy that governs the way we collect, hold, protect, use and disclose your personal information. It also outlines your rights and how you can access and control the information we get from you. All SANE staff are trained on this policy.

The information requested in the guided recovery referral form is essential for assessing your needs and delivering quality support. This form and all associated personal data are securely stored within our health system, separate from our website. Your personal information won't be shared with any third parties unless you provide consent or there is an imminent risk of harm to you or someone else.

To learn more about how we’re protecting your privacy, please visit sane.org/privacy

Do you share any information with outside parties?

Yes, but only in extremely limited circumstances. For example, if there is an imminent risk of harm to someone, there may be a legal requirement to share information with a government authority, such as a local health authority or police.

SANE shares service information with our research partners at Australian universities, who are evaluating our services and researching ways to improve them. But this information is of a statistical nature and will not identify you, nor will information you gave our support team in confidence be passed on.

Do you keep my information forever?

No, after keeping it secure, we will eventually destroy your information in accordance with our data and information management policies. 

How secure is the participant portal?

The portal we set up for you is your private health care and wellbeing space, accessible only to you. You will protect it with your own password and control the information on it. We will help you maintain it and will send you alerts, news and other messages, but only you can access it.

I still have some questions about my Privacy and Confidentiality in the guided recovery program. Who can I contact?

Email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We’ll be glad to answer your questions.

If I have some feedback, concerns or complaints about this service, who do I speak to?

Feedback is always welcome, and complaints help us improve the service. You can read our feedback and complaints policy and/or provide feedback or make a complaint at https://www.sane.org/about-sane/policies/feedback-and-complaints-policy

We will always try to resolve your complaint, but if you are not satisfied with our response, you can take your complaint to the government health complaints body in your state or territory. 

Australian Capital Territory

Health Services Commission
Website: hrc.act.gov.au/complaints/

New South Wales

Health Care Complaints Commission
Website: hccc.nsw.gov.au/health-consumers
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Northern Territory

Health and Community Services Complaints Commission
Website: hscc.nt.gov.au
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Queensland

Office of the Health Ombudsman
Website: oho.qld.gov.au

South Australia

Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner
Website: hscc.sa.gov.au
Phone: 1800 232 007
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tasmania

Health Complaints Commissioner
Website: healthcomplaints.tas.gov.au;
Phone: 1800 001 170
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Victoria

Health Complaints Commission
Website: hcc.vic.gov.au
Phone: 1300 582 113

Mental Health Complaints Commission
Website: mhcc.vic.gov.au
Phone: 1800 246 054
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Western Australia

Health and Disability Services Complaints Office
Website: hadsco.wa.gov.au
Phone: 1800 813 583
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.