A free mental health service for young people in Port Stephens will close next month unless it can secure new funding.
The program, named Jupiter - Space to Talk, has helped more than 1100 young people in Port Stephens in five years.
A NSW government gap analysis released last month found there was a "missing middle" in the state's mental health system.
Jupiter operations manager Avril Saunders said the program "specifically targets the missing middle".
She said Jupiter was about preventing mental health conditions getting worse, so affected young people don't need "high intensity measures or services".
NSW Minister for Mental Health Rose Jackson said "I acknowledge the important work Jupiter does for the Port Stephens community".
"We know there is a need to bolster support for mental health services in this region, especially for our young people," Ms Jackson said.
She met with the Jupiter team last year and "advocated on their behalf" for federal funding.
Port Stephens MP Kate Washington said: "As a long-term supporter of Jupiter, I desperately want to see this important community service continue.
"I've been a big backer of Jupiter since its inception, including securing $100,000 in grant funding earlier this year.
"I will continue to work with them in an effort to secure sustainable funding."
The early intervention service, run by the charity COPSY (Caring for Our Port Stephens Youth), will close on August 31 unless new funding can be secured.
Ms Saunders said Jupiter had applied for grants, met with state and federal health officials and "reached out to corporations in our community to see if they could help us".
Grants secured previously were not renewed "because we're not a new program", Ms Saunders said.
"They're saying they won't fund business as usual."
The program provided 6724 free counselling sessions to 1145 young people in Port Stephens in its five-year existence.
An Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report on mental health, released this week, found one in seven youngsters aged four to 17 experienced a mental health disorder in the past 12 months.
The most common mental illnesses among youngsters were attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorders, major depressive disorder and conduct disorder.
Abbi Harper, 17, is an ambassador for the Jupiter program, having used it to successfully manage anxiety.
"I suffer quite badly from it. I have panic attacks," she said, adding that doing year 12 had caused her anxiety.
"Doing the program helped me find ways to use my anxiety as a driving force and work towards overcoming it."
Abbi did Jupiter's recreation and wellbeing program, which provides a one-on-one weekly session with a counsellor, who is also a personal trainer.
They can exercise while talking.
"It was a lot easier for me than actually sitting with the counsellor. That just made my anxiety worse," Abbi said.
"Doing it in a way that's distracting let me open up a lot more."
Abbi said it was important for the program to continue long-term.
"It gives these kids a platform to talk about their problems and a support network, which helps reduce self harm and suicide."
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Mensline 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.
