Referring someone for mental health recovery supports: what helps a referral land well
A good referral does more than pass on contact details. For psychosocial participants, the way a referral is made can affect whether the person feels respected, whether the first conversation feels possible and whether the provider has enough context to start safely.
The goal is not to send the longest possible history. The goal is to share the right information, with consent, so the participant does not have to re-explain everything from the beginning and the provider can respond in a way that fits.
This guide is for support coordinators, recovery coaches, clinicians, plan managers, family members and other referrers who are helping someone connect with mental health recovery supports.
Start with consent, not paperwork
Before sending a referral, check what the participant wants shared and why. This is not a box-ticking step. It is part of the support.
Psychosocial participants may have had personal information shared between services many times. Some people feel exposed by referral forms because they do not know who will read them, what will be recorded or whether the information will follow them into future services. A consent-led referral helps rebuild choice.
Useful consent questions include:
- "What are you comfortable with me sharing?"
- "Is there anything you do not want included?"
- "Can I share your preferred contact method?"
- "Would you like to be copied into the referral?"
- "Do you want me involved after the referral is sent?"
If risk information is relevant, consent still matters unless there is an immediate safety duty that overrides it. You can usually share risk context in a respectful, proportionate way without sending a full clinical history.
What information helps
The best referrals are clear, practical and participant-centred. They help the provider understand the person, not just the problem.
Include the participant's goals in ordinary language. For example, they may want to leave the house more often, rebuild routines, reduce isolation, attend appointments, understand their plan or feel more confident dealing with providers. Goals do not need to sound polished. They need to sound real.
Include current supports if the participant agrees. This might mean a GP, psychologist, mental health service, support coordinator, plan manager, family contact or existing support worker. You do not need to include every service ever involved. Focus on who is active now and who the participant wants the provider to communicate with.
Include communication preferences. This is often the difference between a referral landing and a referral going nowhere. Some people will not answer unknown calls. Some prefer SMS first. Some need email because phone calls create pressure. Some want a support person copied in. Some can only talk at certain times of day.
Include access needs and practical barriers. Transport, sensory needs, gender preference, interpreter needs, household safety, pets, stairs, parking, telehealth preference and appointment length can all affect whether the first session works.
Include risk context where it is relevant and consented. Keep it factual and useful: what tends to happen, what helps, what makes things worse, who to contact and what the participant has said they want support to do. Avoid labels that do not help the provider respond well.
What not to overshare
A referral does not need a full clinical history. It usually does not need every diagnosis, hospital admission, medication change, family conflict or past incident. More information is not always safer. Sometimes it overwhelms the receiving team and makes the participant feel reduced to the hardest parts of their life.
Ask yourself whether each detail changes how the provider should make contact, plan support or keep the participant safe. If not, it may not belong in the first referral.
It is also worth avoiding language that locks the person into a fixed story. "Does not engage" is less useful than "finds phone calls difficult and is more likely to reply to a text after midday." "Non-compliant" is less useful than "has found previous services too fast and needs choice about pace." Plain, behavioural information helps providers adapt.
Matching matters
For mental health recovery supports, match is not a soft extra. It can determine whether support starts at all.
Ask about worker consistency. A participant who finds trust difficult may need a predictable worker, clear backup arrangements and advance notice of changes. If the provider cannot offer the same worker every time, they should explain what they can offer instead.
Ask whether the participant wants lived experience in the worker. Some people strongly prefer a peer worker or recovery coach with lived experience. Others prefer not to focus on that. The preference belongs to the participant.
Ask about gender preference. For some people this is about comfort. For others it is about trauma, culture, privacy or household dynamics. It should be treated respectfully, not as a difficult request.
Ask about telehealth versus in person. Telehealth can be a bridge when anxiety, energy or transport make in-person support hard. In-person support may be essential when the goal is community access, daily routines or attending appointments. Many participants benefit from a mix.
Recovery coaching and peer support at referral time
Recovery coaching and support coordination are often confused, and peer support adds another layer. At referral time, the distinction is practical.
A psychosocial recovery coach works with the participant on recovery goals, plan use, capacity building and connection across services. They often carry some coordination-style tasks, but through a recovery lens. The referral should include plan context, current service network, recovery goals and any barriers to engagement.
A peer support worker brings lived experience into practical support. They may be a good fit when the participant is not ready for formal therapy, feels isolated, wants support getting into routine or needs a relationship that feels less clinical. The referral should include the participant's preferences, what kind of first contact feels possible and the everyday tasks they want support with.
The right answer may be one support, not both. It may also change over time. The key is to avoid sending a vague "needs mental health support" referral and hoping the provider guesses.
Post-referral communication
Good communication after referral is brief, useful and consented. Referrers often want to know whether the provider has made contact, whether the participant attended and whether the support is working. Those are reasonable questions, but the participant decides what can be shared.
Before the first handover, agree on the communication loop. Who should be updated? What can be shared? How often? What should happen if the provider cannot reach the participant? When should the support coordinator or referrer step back?
With consent, a helpful update might simply say: contact attempted, first appointment booked, immediate barriers identified, service agreement in progress, or referral not a fit and alternatives suggested. It does not need to include private session detail.
How Ellira receives referrals
Ellira accepts referrals through the referral form or by email at [email protected]. A real person replies within one business day.
We work alongside existing providers. We do not require a participant to move services to Ellira, and we do not treat a referral as a sales pathway for every support we offer. Participants choose who is on their team. Our job is to be clear about what we can provide, what we cannot provide and whether we are a good fit.
If you are a coordinator, our for coordinators page sets out how we work with referrers, including the information that helps us respond quickly and respectfully.
Common questions
Should I send the participant's whole clinical history?
Usually, no. Send what helps the provider make contact, understand goals, match the worker and plan support safely. If detailed clinical information is needed later, it should be requested clearly and shared with the participant's consent.
What if the participant is hard to contact?
Describe what works. A useful referral says whether SMS, email, phone, morning contact, afternoon contact or contact through a support person is most likely to succeed. It also helps to agree on what the provider should do after missed contact attempts.
Can I stay involved after the referral?
Yes, if the participant wants that. Some participants want their support coordinator or referrer involved in the first meeting or copied into early updates. Others want a clean handover. Either approach can work when consent is clear.
What if the referral is not the right fit?
A good provider should say so early and, where possible, suggest a more suitable pathway. A poor fit is not a failure if it is identified respectfully before the participant invests energy in a service that cannot meet their needs.
How much risk information should I include?
Include enough to support safe, respectful contact and planning. Keep it factual, current and relevant. Avoid long histories or loaded labels unless they genuinely affect how support should be delivered.
Where to from here
To make a referral, use the referral form or book a call if you want to talk through fit before sending details.
This article is general information, not medical or clinical advice. For support with your situation, talk to your GP, treating team, or call us on 1300 487 996. In an emergency call 000. For urgent mental-health support call Lifeline on 13 11 14.