Engage Aotearoa

Category Archives: Human Rights And Legal Issues

Information and updates on human rights and legislation issues related to mental health.

United Nations World Happiness Report Calls on Policy Makers to Prioritise Happiness

March 27, 2014 5:29 pm ⋅

The United Nations World Happiness Report 2013 was released in September last year. The report calls on global policy makers to prioritise happiness as a key measure and target of development.

In Chapter 3, Mental Illness and Unhappiness, authors Richard Layard, Dan Chisholm, Vikram Patel and Shekhar Saxena, write: “For policy makers, the key issue is what affects happiness. Some studies show mental health to be the single most important determinant of whether a person is happy or not. Yet, even in rich countries, less than a third of mentally ill people are in treatment. Good, cost-effective treatments exist for depression, anxiety disorders and psychosis, and the happiness of the world would be greatly increased if they were more widely available.”

The Report shows the major beneficial side-effects of happiness. Happy people live longer, are more productive, earn more, and are also better citizens. Well-being should be developed both for its own sake and for its side-effects.

Read the full report here: http://www.globalmentalhealth.org/sites/default/files/WorldHappinessReport2013_online.pdf
Thanks to the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership for sharing this information.

Posted in: Human Rights and Legal Issues, Online Resources, Politics and Policy, Social Change ⋅ Tagged: , , , , ,

Chinese Community Asked to Reconsider Disability

March 10, 2014 6:23 pm ⋅

Chinese Parents Support Service Trust (CPSST) is embarking a journey to ask the Chinese community to Think Differently about disability.

“The unlimited love” is the title of the campaign to change attitudes and behaviour that limit opportunities for disabled Chinese people in Auckland. The campaign is funded through the Ministry of Social Development, Social Campaigns Team Family and Community Services.

The campaign will utilise Chinese media, such as Chinese Voice Radio AM936, Skykiwi (most popular Chinese website in New Zealand) and Chinese Herald (newspaper) to introduce a series of local and national disability services. These include, Autism NZ Inc, Blind Foundation, Deaf Radio, Circability, Elevate Christian Disability Trust, Mental Health Foundation’s Kai Xin Xing Dong project, Independent Living Services and many more. Beside that, Philip Patston and Dr. Huhana Hickey also shared their inspiration about their work in the disability sector.

Eva the CEO of CPSST hopes by introducing disability services Chinese people can gain an understanding of the services available for them. “ We hope more dialogue among Chinese community about disability by introducing the disability services”.

According to The New Zealand Disability Strategy One in five people, in New Zealand report having a long-term impairment. This can be born, incidents, health issues or require later in life.

(The Unlimited Love has been running on every Saturday for 13 weeks on AM 936 from 10am to 11am).

http://cpsst.org.nz/

Posted in: Asian Communities, Disability Issues, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Parents and Parenting, People with Disabilities, Social Change ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , ,

Inside Mental Health Works, First Quarter 2014

February 10, 2014 2:10 pm ⋅

Mental Health Works is a quarterly publication for employers.

Each issue features practices from employers and provides readers with solutions for tackling mental health in the workplace.

Mental Health Works is available in both digital magazine and PDF form.

Inside Mental Health Works, First Quarter 2014

Contact:

Partnership for Workplace Mental Health
American Psychiatric Foundation
1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1825 • Arlington, VA 22209
703-907-8561 

Posted in: Disability Issues, Employment / Work, Human Rights and Legal Issues, People with Disabilities, Professional Development ⋅ Tagged: , ,

Mental Health and Addictions Services Serious Adverse Event Report

October 5, 2013 11:29 pm ⋅

The Health Quality and Safety Commission have released the first report setting out the serious adverse events (SAEs) that New Zealand’s 20 district health boards (DHBs) have reported in the previous year.

  • Between 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2013, 177 SAEs affecting patients of mental health and addictions services were reported by DHBs.
  • SAEs by Type:
    • 134: death by suspected suicide
    • 17: serious self-harm
    • 17: serious adverse behaviour
    • 5: going missing from inpatient facility (no harm)
    • 4: other event resulting in patient harm.

The Commission has agreed in principle to a two-year working partnership with the Ministry of Health to develop a trial of a suicide mortality review function to improve knowledge of contributing factors and patterns of suicidal behaviour, and to better identify key intervention points for suicide prevention.

The SAEs were reported in accordance with the process set out in the national reportable events policy, whereby health and disability providers identify, review and report events which have caused, or could have caused, serious harm to the patient.

Click here to read a copy of the full report. 

Posted in: Human Rights and Legal Issues, News, Research, Suicide Prevention/Support ⋅ Tagged: , , ,

Service-User shares Open Letter to their Psychiatrist

September 18, 2013 10:22 pm ⋅

Engage Aotearoa has received an open letter to share from a member of the community who has been using one of the Community Mental-Health Services in Auckland. The letter will be read in a week or two to the clinician involved. But they wanted to share their thoughts further than that.

“It is sad to admit,” says service director, Miriam Larsen-Barr, “but we know the experiences of disempowerment and lack of choice highlighted in this letter are rather widespread. We receive regular emails from community members informing us of similar experiences. People don’t want to complain. They want to be heard, valued, respected, listened to and worked with, not worked on. Perhaps if we bring our voices together and get behind each other more we can help turn that balance of power around.“

Open Letter to a NZ Psychiatrist

Dear Doctor

I have written you this letter because every time I attempt to express myself while inside the walls of a mental health facility my words dry up. I choke on my frustration, I sigh at the futility of trying to explain myself to people who have never understood me and I give up. Instead I have put into words well in advance what I want to say to you, so that the message comes across clear. I have written the words down so I can read them calmly, and you will hear them not as mania or psychosis or the rant of a lunatic, but so you will hear them as a carefully prepared statement, and maybe just a few will sink in.

Let me begin by discussing my views on psychiatry in general, so that you understand I have no respect for anyone in your position. I admit, it’s true I have a personal prejudice against psychiatrists, so it would have been hard for you to earn my respect. Here’s why. I think that the entire history of psychiatry has done more harm than good. I think that psychiatry today does more harm than good. You forcefully medicate and detain people against their will, and you claim it helps them. You habituate people to substances which you have absolutely no idea how to help them discontinue. And you repeatedly ignore our service user requests for our own courses of treatment, while claiming you know better because of your education. You think you have a better knowledge of what’s good for me than I have for myself. And you think it because you’re sure you’re better than me in some way, less broken, more together, or more sane. You think my history proves I’m infantile or incapable, and your first and most strong desire is to convince me and make me accept I’m infantile and incapable. Every psychiatrist I have ever seen has been a broken record, and every time I’ve asked for help to meet my own health goals, I’m told I have the wrong goals.

So now I have to come to you personally, doctor. The first memory I have of our meeting, I remember you telling me that because of my history, it seemed obvious to you I would need medication for the rest of my life. Do you tell this to every service user the first time you meet them, Doctor? I’m glad my file is so complete and reliable that you can come to a conclusion about me and the rest of my life based on a few notes that other people have written about me. It’s a bit of a pity that my hopes, dreams, desires, wishes and aspirations don’t come into it at all.

It’s also a pity that you don’t share the rest of your expertise with your patients. Surely you learned something in all that time at university about diet or exercise or meditation or mediation or self-awareness, or in fact any way to flourish other than taking a happy pill. You must have some knowledge from your personal experience of dealing with distress or family members in need. You must have some idea about how to address the skeletons in my closet in a friendly and welcoming environment with someone I feel I can talk to.

Because if you don’t have any advice for me other than what the brand of the day is from the pharmaceutical company who gave you that free pad to write on and coffee mug to drink out of, I really am sad. Because you might as well be a pill vending machine. And maybe one day, when you’re a little older and wiser, you’ll count the years of time you stole from your doped up patients, not to mention the years you took off the end of their lives, and you might feel a little sad too.

Sincerely Yours

Posted in: Community Participation, Engage Updates, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Psychiatric Medication, Recovery Stories, Service-User Movement ⋅ Tagged: , , , , ,

International Petition Demands “Let us see Drug Data! Drug hazards are not trade secrets”

August 31, 2013 11:30 am ⋅

A petition has been making its way around the internet urging drug companies to stop lawsuits blocking public access to drug trial data. The petition names physical health medications, but this issue is also highly relevant to the availability of drug trial data about psychiatric medications.

The petitioner, David Healy of Cardiff, Wales writes: 

Drug companies maximize the sales of new drugs by hyping their benefits while downplaying significant risks. In 2010 the European Medicines Agency began releasing patient-level data from the clinical trials used to approve new medicines in Europe – a development hailed by American and European researchers and researchers around the world as a major step towards drug safety.

This process has been shut down by a lawsuit taken by two American corporations – AbbVie, makers of Humira, the number one selling medication in the world with projected sales of $10 billion in 2013; and InterMune, whose pulmonary-fibrosis drug Esbriet has recently been approved in Europe at a cost of over $40,000 per year.

AbbVie and InterMune have filed suit to deny access to the data from their trials on the benefits and harms of these drugs, claiming these vital facts are “trade secrets” whose release would harm their profits. Their action has led to the shutdown of the entire public-access program, leaving millions of patients worldwide, and their doctors, in the dark.

We call on AbbVie and InterMune to drop their European Union lawsuit and release all patient level data on Humira, Esbriet and their other products. Vital data on drug safety should never be hidden as a “trade secret.” By copying this petition to President Barack Obama and members of his Cabinet we call on them to ensure that meaningful public access to clinical trial data becomes the policy of the FDA and is written into any international trade agreements governing the sale of prescription drugs and devices.

Copies to:
President Barack Obama;
Margaret Hamburg, M.D., Commissioner, Food & Drug Administration;
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, United Nations;
World Health Organization Director Dr Margaret Chan.

Click here to sign the petition.

Posted in: Human Rights and Legal Issues, News, Politics and Policy, Psychiatric Medication, Service-User Movement, Social Change ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , ,

Health Select Committee Meeting About Petition for Better Mental-Healthcare Choices in NZ

August 23, 2013 2:36 pm ⋅

Update: The Health Select Committee is not accepting submissions from the public for their meeting on the Petition for Better Mental-Healthcare Choices in NZ at this stage, as was advertised in the August 5th notice below. Submissions are to be accepted only from the petitioner (Annie Chapman) and the Ministry of Health.

As public submissions are typically invited, the team at Engage thought the same would be true of the meeting about the Petition for Better Mental-Healthcare Choices. We apologise for any inconvenience and frustration caused to anyone who had prepared or sent a submission in.

Click here to read Engage Aotearoa’s Submission on the Petition for Better Mental-Healthcare Choices.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

5.08.2013

The Petition for Better Mental-Healthcare Choices in NZ had it’s first reading by the Health Select Committee on the 10th of July and submissions are invited by the 23rd of August.

Find out more about making a submission here.

If these options are difficult for you, contact the chairperson of the Health Select Committee Paul Hutchison paul.hutchison@parliament.govt.nz 

Contact Annie Chapman for more information on hikoiforhealth@gmail.com 

Click here to visit the Hikoi website.

Posted in: Community Participation, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Politics and Policy, Psychiatric Medication, Service-User Movement ⋅ Tagged: ,

The 1000 Hours Project

August 5, 2013 9:42 pm ⋅

DRAFT FCB ARE DONATING 1000 HOURS TO HELP STOP CHILD ABUSE

The people working at DraftFCB feel very strongly about the disturbing levels of child abuse in New Zealand. But strong feelings alone don’t create change, so they’ve decided to do something. It’s a very big and complex problem, and they know that one advertising agency won’t achieve much on its own. But if they can give a boost to an existing, dedicated, long-term organisation, and help that organisation act as an inspiring example to others, then they believe Draft FCB can make a difference. That’s why they’re donating 1000 hours of their communications expertise to the organisation (or organisations) that can best show Draft FCB how they can use it to help protect New Zealand’s children.

Find out more here.

Posted in: Human Rights and Legal Issues, Social Change ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,

Funding Cuts to Talking Therapies Hits the News

July 29, 2013 7:36 pm ⋅

The NZ Herald has reported growing community concern over increasingly restricted funding for talking therapies across the country. Click the headline below to read the full story.

VoiceBoxMEgaphone

Alarm Over Depression Therapy Cuts – NZ Herald, 29 July 2013

Major insurance providers, Sovereign, have disclosed they will only fund medication and exercise as treatments for depression in future, given the cost associated with talking therapies and the number of people who need them.

In the article, Mike King of The Nutters Club and Key to Life Charitable Trust comments “I can say from experience that talk therapy absolutely works. But few people can afford it. We don’t need less talk therapy. We need to be working with the Government and insurance companies to find ways for more people to get affordable or free therapy.”

A representative from Sovereign insurance states that antidepressants are “proven to work” and uses an example of a person who is only mildly depressed following a period of unemployment as a time when talking therapy would be considered unnecessary and antidepressants considered sufficient. “This shows a misunderstanding of the research,” says Engage Aotearoa service director, Miriam Larsen-Barr, “antidepressants have been shown to be effective only at the severe end of the spectrum. People with mild to moderate symptoms can most definitely be helped with talking therapy and are much more likely to respond positively to that than antidepressant medication. People tend to have these experiences for a reason. Talking therapies help people address those reasons in ways that medication alone cannot, for all that it has its place and uses.” 

One might argue that restricting treatment choices to medication or exercise alone limits service-users’ ability to make the best recovery choices for them or freely give their informed consent – choice is considered a fundamental part of consent and choice requires multiple options. This is reflected in the Health and Disability Commissioner’s Code of Consumer Rights. In the recent Partnership Report from Changing Minds, service-users specifically call for a greater range of choice when it comes to their recovery. The NZ Herald article has already inspired much debate.

Comments on Facebook posts sharing the article are calling for some kind of action to address the issue of funding for talking therapies. Funding for therapy has been an issue for quite some time. Improved access to talking therapies was one of the requests made in the Petition for Better Mental-Healthcare Choices that was delivered to parliament in June. The Health Select Committee will be meeting to discuss the petition in the next month or two, but have yet to release the date of their meeting. If you are passionate about this issue and want to add your voice to those calling for better access to the things that work, email your submission to the chairperson of the Health Select Committee Paul Hutchison at  paul.hutchison@parliament.govt.nz or contact your local MP. 

 

Posted in: Engage Updates, Human Rights and Legal Issues, News, Politics and Policy, Service-User Movement, Social Change ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,

Philip Patston’s TedX Talk About Labels Available Online

July 29, 2013 6:54 pm ⋅

In 2012 diversity activist Philip Patston gave a talk on the topic of labels at the TedX Auckland event. Earlier this July, The NZ Herald uploaded Patston’s TedX Talk to their website.

You can watch it here.

“Philip Patston is best recognised for his ten-year career as a comedian and entertainer, but it’s his passion for social change that is getting him noticed. An alumni of the New Zealand Social Entrepreneur Fellowship, Philip is a passionate believer that we have a powerful opportunity to reimagine diversity. His focus is on engaging people to achieve positive social change by reinventing the labels with which we categorise ourselves and each other.”

Posted in: Human Rights and Legal Issues, Online Resources, Parents and Parenting, People with Disabilities, Service-User Movement, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: , , ,