National youth mental health foundation Headspace appears to be in disarray after the resignation of its CEO and five board members.

Key points: Headspace set up to provide mental health services to Australians aged between 12 and 25

Headspace set up to provide mental health services to Australians aged between 12 and 25 CEO Chris Tanti and five board members resigned earlier this week

CEO Chris Tanti and five board members resigned earlier this week CEO of the Ted Noffs Foundation says he was not surprised Headspace appeared to be in trouble

One of the organisation's founders, former Australian of the Year Professor Patrick McGorry, has been downplaying the turmoil, insisting Headspace has a promising future.

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But others working in the youth mental health sector disagree.

Headspace was set up a decade ago to provide mental health services to Australians aged between 12 and 25.

Young people can seek help at a Headspace centre or through its online or phone services.

Professor McGorry, one of the architects of the Headspace model and also sits on the Headspace board, confirmed this morning that the organisation's CEO Chris Tanti and five board members had resigned earlier this week.

He told the ABC's Jon Faine that to understand the resignations it was necessary to be aware of what he called the "policy context".

"Last November the Prime Minister and the Health Minister announced very sweeping changes to the way health services, and specifically mental health services, would be provided in Australia by the primary health networks," he said.

"That change, which came into effect on the 1st of July, would mean that Headspace's role as a national office, as a national organisation, would shrink very significantly.

"They wouldn't provide any programs anymore directly, and they would treat a much smaller accreditation, data and support role to the primary health networks and the centres themselves.

"And so a governance review was undertaken."

Tension within Headspace organisation

Professor McGorry acknowledged there had been some tension in the Headspace organisation.

"We've just seen a very big process of change and of course that does create tensions, you probably saw the outgoing CEO expressing some frustration during an election campaign in the media about this big change to headspaces role," he said.

Professor McGorry told Mr Faine that the system had been providing positive outcomes to young people.

Mr Faine pointed out that 13 staff who had not had their contracts renewed had left, that half the board had left and that the CEO had resigned.

"There's far more to this than is being told, is the suggestion?" Mr Faine asked.

Professor McGorry replied that he could "imagine why some people might say that".

'Cookie cutter sale approach fails'

Former Headspace CEO Chris Tanti and Professor Ian Hickie, who resigned from the board in 2012, declined The World Today's request for interviews.

Matt Noffs, CEO of the Ted Noffs Foundation, which helps disadvantaged young people with drug and alcohol problems, said he was not surprised that Headspace appeared to be in trouble.

"If you look back at the history of Headspace, the beginnings were truly exciting, there was a sense that there was going to be a partnership amongst different fields working together — but saying that there was a lot of money coming into this early on," he said.

"As this project staled, the promise of a 100 centres and hundreds of dollars, that excitement quickly became a disappointment, as we saw Professor Hickie leave the board and confusion happen among the field as to what this organisation was actually doing."

Mr Noffs said he questioned the announcement early on from Headspace of 100 new centres.

"Why was this number picked out when normally when we do things in the field of mental health or drugs, you're thinking about what communities need, you're thinking about where the communities are, you're thinking about local needs, you're not thinking about it like how McDonalds would ... a cookie cutter sale approach fails."