The new Tasmanian rural mental health project

The processes for developing the Tasmanian Rural Mental Health Plan are briefly described in this paper which also discusses some of the activities undertaken by the Barrington Support Service in progressing the mental health of students in some of Tasmania's state schools, including AusEinet project, FRIENDS in primary schools, and Rap in high schools. Evaluation issues are considered in relation to early intervention and prevention programs. The partnerships that can be developed between generic service providers and mental health services, and the usefulness of community based services for promoting mental health awareness are issues highlighted.