The Commonwealth Psychosocial Support Program (CPS) is a free program for people with a severe mental illness.

CPS provides supports non-clinical, community-based supports that aim to facilitate recovery in the community for people experiencing mental illness. Recovery coaches help people manage daily activities, rebuild and maintain connections, build social skills and participate in education and employment.

This is not a clinical service.

How does the Commonwealth Psychosocial Support Program work?

CPS offers one-to-one coaching with a psychosocial recovery coach who can support recovery for people with enduring mental illness. In partnership with your family and carers (where possible), we provide a range of non-clinical community-based support to support you to achieve your goals.

Each session with our psychosocial recovery coach will be goal-oriented in focus and designed as a person-centred recovery plan.

You will learn strategies and develop skills that help you:

• Identify your strengths
• Connect to a social network that will improve your wellbeing
• Build resilience to achieve your goals
• Connect with family or your community
• Enjoy a full and vibrant life
• Build capacity to live independently in the community

Your psychosocial coach will support you to:

• Look after your mental and physical health
• Develop a recovery plan
• Achieve your goals through face-to-face and phone coaching
• Develop vocational skills and goals
• Manage substance use concerns
• Find and maintain a home
• Reduce your need for hospital services
• Test your eligibility for the NDIS
• Reach out to the people in your life who can support your recovery (such as carers or family members, your GP, services in the community, health professionals)

CPS is available to participants in the following area

How do I access the Commonwealth Psychosocial Support Program

To access CPS, you must:

• Have a severe and persistent mental illness
• Have needs that can be appropriately met through short-term, low intensity support to live independently in the community, as determined through a capacity and strengths-based assessment
• Not be restricted in your ability to fully and actively participate in the community because of your residential setting (for example, prison or psychiatric facility)
• Not be receiving similar psychosocial supports through a state or territory government program or the NDIS, where there is potential for duplication of service offerings
• Be aged 16 years and over

You can self-refer into the program or be referred in by your GP or community support, just complete our referral form.

Once your referral is received, a member of the team will be in contact with you.

More information

• Call 1300 402 585
• Email psychosocialsupports@marathonhealth.com.au 
• Read our privacy brochure

This service is supported by funding from the Western NSW PHN through the Australian Government's PHN program.