The July-August issue of Chatters for 2013 is out from Crossroads Clubhouse.
Click here to open a PDF copy of Chatters July-August 2013
August e-Bulletin from Te Pou
The August e-Bulletin is out from Te Pou.
Inside the August e-Bulletin
- Developing an outcomes culture
- Te Pou news
- Sector notices
- Job vacancies
- In the news
- Events
IIMHL Newsletter Issue 8 Online Now
Issue 8 of the newsletter for New Zealand leaders from the mental health, addiction and disability sectors has just come out. The newsletter aims to keep you up-to-date with the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership (IIMHL), the International Initiative for Disability Leadership (IIDL) and other developments within New Zealand and internationally.
- 2014 Leadership Exchange
- Focus on discharge planning for the Werry Centre
- Government priority areas for Disability Support Services
- Leadership breakfasts in Auckland, Wellington and Hamilton
- How to join IIMHL and IIDL
The 1000 Hours Project
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.
Updates from the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership
IIMHL Features – England
Whole-person care: from rhetoric to reality in achieving parity between mental and physical health
A new Report from England argues more should be done to ensure mental health treatments are on the same level as treatments for physical health and more promotion of good mental health and improved funding into research into mental illness are all also crucial for ensuring parity of esteem between the two aspects of healthcare.
The report, developed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in conjunction with other mental health organisations, highlights the significant inequalities that still exist between physical and mental health care, including preventable premature deaths, lower treatment rates for mental health conditions and an underfunding of mental healthcare relative to the scale and impact of it. It also highlights the strong relationship between mental and physical health. Poor mental health is associated with a greater risk of physical health problems, and poor physical health is associated with a greater risk of mental health problems.
The report makes a series of key recommendations for Government, policy-makers and health professionals, as well as the new NHS structures which came into force on April 1 including the NHS England, Clinical Commissioning Groups and Public Health England.
Professor Sue Bailey, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “Much has been done to improve mental health in the last 10 years but it still does not receive the same attention as physical health, and the consequences can be serious. People with severe mental illness have a reduced life expectancy of 15-20 years, yet the majority of reasons for this are avoidable. Achieving parity of esteem for mental health is everybody’s business and responsibility. We therefore urge the Government, policy-makers, service commissioners and providers, professionals and the public to always think in terms of the whole person – body and mind – and to apply a ‘parity test’ to all their activities and to their attitudes.
Improving Personalised Care and Support for People with Mental Health Problems
From the UK this new guide aims to increase the number of people with mental health problems experiencing the full benefits of personalised care and support. Currently, only 9% of people with mental health problems of working-age have a personal budget, compared to 29% of older people and 41% of adults with a learning disability. Paths to Personalisation, published by the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi), offers examples of what needs to be in place to make personalisation work in mental health. It provides examples drawn from latest practice and policy and up-to-date sources of advice for people. Coproduced with people who use mental health services and service professionals, the guide will help organisations meet government priorities to increase people’s choice and control over the care and support they experience.
Additional Features from Scotland
The British Journal of Psychiatry – Special issue focussing on campaign and attitudes
This special issue focuses on stigma and discrimination in England. It describes evaluations of the ‘Time to Change’ campaign conducted in England. It also looks at employment and role of the media.
There are seven articles followed by comments by leading mental health people.
Content Page April 2013, Volume 202, Issue s55 – all open access.
Adult Mental Health Benchmarking Toolkit: Year ending 31st March 2012
(2013). Scotland: National Health Services.
Annual publication of the Mental Health Benchmarking Toolkit comprising data up to 31st March 2010. The toolkit provides information on a range of indicators to compare key aspects of the Adult Mental Health Service in Scotland.
For general enquiries about this update or for other IIMHL information please contact Erin Geaney at erin@iimhl.com
Funding Cuts to Talking Therapies Hits the News
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.
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.
Philip Patston’s TedX Talk About Labels Available Online
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.
“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.”
CMHRT Welcomes New Board Members
Community Mental-Health Resources Trust (CMHRT) have elected four new Trustees to the board that sits behind the Engage Aotearoa website. The board now has nine trustees and is looking forward to what the future will bring.
Meet the New CMHRT Trustees:
Taimi Allan is known for her high quality work on New Zealand’s ‘Like Minds, Like Mine’ programme, for the creation of ‘reTHiNK’, for her role at Mind and Body Consultants, as an expert speaker on social media for suicide prevention and as being a pragmatic and diplomatic policy advisor. As a leader in the field of mental health in New Zealand, Taimi is a highly sought after presenter, with measured success in reducing stigma and discrimination through innovative health promotion strategies including tailored education and training packages, social technology, media communications, entertainment and event production.
Emma Edwards holds a BA (Hons) in Psychology (University of Otago) and MSc in Health Psychology (University of Auckland). She is currently completing her Doctorate. Emma worked in the mental health field for approximately 4 years at the NGO Recovery Solutions (formerly Challenge Trust). She held roles as a support worker and then a DAPAANZ registered mental-health professional at a residential intensive rehabilitation service. Emma then became the Service Coordinator and established a new youth respite mental health service. When she began her doctorate, Emma worked as a trainer for Recovery Solutions, facilitating trainings and advising staff. Emma has service-user and family experience with mental health struggles and is passionate about working hard to impact mental health perceptions, policies, and resources on a larger scale.
Dean Manly has a background in supported employment, project research and writing, strategic planning, delivery and evaluation, and NGO Governance. Dean graduated from The University of Auckland Faculty of Arts with a MA (1st Class Hons) in 2000. His Doctor of Philosophy Research (2009) investigated representations of mental-health problems in cinema in order to examine the myths and assumptions shared by the popular culture media. He found stereotypes of the ‘Other’ are coded into western culture images and narratives. This was especially true for disenfranchised or marginalised groups othered by society. Dean is known for roles as National Manager of the Like Minds, Like Mine Project for the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand and previous chairperson of the Council for Mental Wellbeing Trust (now Changing Minds).
Sheree Veysey is a counsellor and trainer who was initially drawn to working in the field of mental health through her lived experience of mental unwellness. She is passionate about people finding their own unique recipes for wellbeing and recovery which attend to the whole person and their situation. She has a Masters of Social Practice, Bachelor of Communication Studies and is a provisional member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors. Sheree is also a writer and musician, as well as an adoring auntie and dog owner.
