A Canberra service set up to help a "missing middle" in mental health care and support has a new home in the city's centre.
The federal government-funded Canberra Head to Health Centre will become a permanent fixture following a trial of the service, which started in 2021 in Deakin.
The centre is for people experiencing moderate to severe mental ill health.
The free service is staffed by psychologists, counsellors, social workers and occupational therapists who assess a person seeking support and help with treatment options and develop a plan.
The new centre in Childers Street will be opened on Tuesday morning by federal Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Emma McBride.
She said the service was aimed at people who needed more support than an individual session with a psychologist but who were not at the stage where they needed help from the hospital system.
"These are designed for people with more moderate to severe mental ill health and the best model of care is multidisciplinary care, having the right clinicians working together in a collaborative way with that individual person," Ms McBride said.
"Someone could walk in there and depending on their needs at that point in time, it may be that they have a session with a psychologist.
"These sessions are available ongoing and if someone has a more complex or enduring mental health problem it may be they will then be linked with another service.
"There's no cap on the number of services that someone can receive."
Canberra Head to Health director and clinical psychologist Jason McCrae said the centre sought to fill a gap in services for people with moderate to severe mental ill health.
"This missing middle of people who are experiencing moderate to severe mental illness, there's not enough services in that area," he said.
The free service is able to be accessed without a referral from a general practitioner of a Medicare card. People can also be assessed via a phone call.
Mr McCrae said people who access the service are assessed by a mental health clinician who examines an individual's circumstances and to understand what the person needs.
"Then what we try to do is provide a connection for the individual to a service that's going to work for their needs," he said.
"Help them navigate the services available in Canberra or it might be a referral to Canberra Head to Health for one of our psychologists or social workers or counsellors to provide ongoing treatment and care."
The Canberra service is funded by the federal government through the ACT's primary health network, Capital Health Network and is run by Think Mental Health.
The centres were established under the former federal coalition government.
A trial of the service opened in Deakin in December 2021 and since then more than 150 people have accessed the service, with the centre delivering more than 900 clinical sessions.
There were initially eight sites set up across Australia but Ms McBride said funding from budgets would add an extra 32 sites across the nation, including eight new centres and 24 satellite sites.
- 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.
