Online mental health chat support most popular with women and under 30’s

Around three quarters of people using Medibank’s 24/7 mental health online chat are women, and nearly half are aged 30 and younger, highlighting the need for different approaches to mental health support.

Medibank recently introduced online chat to its 24/7 mental health support line, to provide another avenue for customers to speak to a mental health professional.

Since its launch in August, Medibank has found 78% of users are female. Almost half of the customers using the service are aged under 30 years old, compared to 20% of under 30’s who use the 24/7 phone service. Around 1 in 5 are aged between 31 and 45 years old. 10% of users are aged between 46 and 55, and around 15% are over the age of 55.

The online chat usually sees a spike in users at 10am and from 6pm until midnight, with around 20% of chats done between 11pm – 5am. Whereas for inbound calls, the highest traffic occurs between 9am and 2pm, demonstrating the two channels – call and online chat – are complementary and cater to different customer needs.

The top reasons for using the online chat were anxiety, relationship issues, depression, general stress and work issues.

Medibank Chief Customer Officer Milosh Milisavljevic said the new service provides mental health support for customers who don’t feel comfortable speaking on the phone.

“There is no “one-size-fits-all" approach to mental health which is why we are always looking for new ways to support our customers. Our online chat highlights the need for different approaches to mental health support,” said Mr Milisavljevic.

“What we are seeing is that there are people in the community who do not want to speak on the phone or in person to a mental health professional but would like to chat over messenger about their concerns.

“It’s well-known that mental health is a serious issue in Australia, and we are committed to provide our customers with support. All Medibank customers have unlimited and round-the-clock access to mental health support through our 24/7 mental health line and online chat service.

“Importantly, it can be accessed anywhere in Australia, which is crucial for those living in regional and rural areas where access is limited.”

Medibank’s 24/7 mental health line and online chat is serviced by a team of psychologists, mental health professionals and counsellors.

Customers can access the online chat service via the Medibank app or the Medibank website.