Engage Aotearoa

Funded New Zealand Sign Language Interpreters for Deaf Parents

March 10, 2013 11:33 pm ⋅

The Ministry of Education is now funding New Zealand Sign Language Interpreters for Deaf parents so they can contribute and participate in their children’s core education activities while their children are attending primary and secondary school.

This service covers:

  • formal parent-teacher meetings
  • Individual Education Plan meetings
  • attendance at prize giving/special assemblies
  • attendance at any additional meetings with school staff where any aspect of a child’s education is being discussed
  • attendance at school enrolment meetings.

For information about the service go to: http://www.isign.co.nz/services/funding, or contact Carolyn Grace, phone 04 463 8953 or email carolyn.grace@minedu.govt.nz .

Posted in: Accessibility / Transport, Disability Issues, News, Parents and Parenting, People with Disabilities ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,

Controversy After Lifehack Launched: New Youth E-Health Project

March 10, 2013 11:27 pm ⋅

The Ministry of Social Development launched a new youth mental-health initiative on the 28th of Feb – a youth-led e-health project.

Life Hack says they are “assembling a crack team of hipsters, hackers and hustlers…” Called Lifehackers. “The Mavericks and trailblazers, who don’t let a hurdle stop them, the ones who make things happen.” “…Together they’ll use their sweet skills to create new technologies and media solutions to tackle young New Zealanders’ mental health issues head on.”

Explore the newly launched Lifehack Website to find out more about the project and how youth can get involved.

In Lifehack: the youth mental wellness answer or a well-meaning quick fix? diversity consultant Philip Patston describes Lifehack as “a technology incubater run by (my words) well-meaning happiness evangelists and tech geeks, hell-bent on the idea that the answer to better youth mental health is to play more, say, “Yahoo!” and download an app.” He goes on to post two videos that reveal the Life Hack ad bears striking similarities to a Coca Cola ad, sharing unrealistic images of perfect bodies having sun-filled fun.

Comments on Facebook question the wisdom of investing so much money in a project that only some youth will directly participate in, instead of addressing the funding shortages in the primary mental-health sector. Others question the approach of gathering happy, successful people to tell other kids how to be happy, rather than seeking out youth with lived experiences and empowering them to lead the charge.  One person suggests “as far as i know and i have yrs of experience w mental health issues, assistance and understanding, the best thing for people is tailored to individuals first of all, works with people who trust each other and rarely does any technology take the place of another well-trained, decent human being.”

Engage Aotearoa director, Miriam Larsen-Barr, comments “E-resources can be really useful, but in my opinion we really need more on-the-ground resources at the moment, more access to therapy and real-life support. Hopefully Lifehack can attract the right kind of young people with genuine intention, who are able to create something that has a life beyond the web. Computers really can’t replace human contact, meaning and belonging. That’s why all of our e-resources are designed to help people engage with their communities and support options.”

Lifehack needs young people who have experienced mental-health problems to get involved and make sure that the initiative goes in the right direction!

Posted in: Community Participation, News, Online Resources, Politics and Policy, Service-User Movement, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: , , ,

Far North Services Added to Community Resources Directory

March 2, 2013 7:50 pm ⋅

Mental-health recovery resources from the Far North were added to most sections of the Community Resources Directory on the Engage Aotearoa website on the 1st of March.

The directory is now nearly 70-pages long and the Far North sub-sections include services from Whangarei, Kerikeri, Kaikohe, Dargaville, Kawakawa and Kaitaia that can be used to promote recovery, including creative connections, psychologists and counsellors, support services and more. 

If you spot something missing or have information to fill in the many gaps, please get in touch.

Posted in: Engage Updates ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Mike King: Cool to Korero at Far North Schools 5 & 6 March 2013

March 2, 2013 3:14 pm ⋅

Engage Aotearoa and The Key to Life Charitable Trust have organised an opportunity for every high school student in and around Kaitaia to attend a special session with Mike King called Cool to Korero. The focus is on developing supportive school communities and a culture where it is okay to ask for help. The overall aim is to prevent further suicides in the Far North.

  • Taipa Area School, 1pm – 3pm, Tuesday 5th of March
    • Open to senior students and parents from surrounding schools by prior arrangement with Taipa Area School
  • Kaitaia College, Wednesday 6th of March
    • Open to year 9-13 students from surrounding schools by prior arrangement with Kaitaia College
    • Morning Session: 9 am – 11 am (For all year 9 and 10 students)
    • Afternoon Session: 11:25 am – 1:25 pm (For all year 11, 12 and 13 students)

CoolToKoreroPosterV1

Many thanks to Mental Health Commissioner Lynne Lane, who heard of the project and arranged funding to allow Skylight to send boxes of resources to gift to the community.

Lane says, “It is important that everyone has a better understanding of how to develop the resilience to cope with the challenges that life holds. We also need to learn how to recognise when someone is struggling to cope with life and to know what to do to support them on the path to recovery.  It is important  to know the early signs of when someone is developing problems, so that they can get help and avoid becoming seriously unwell.  We are all much better informed about how to keep our hearts healthy and how to avoid having a “heart attack”  (healthy eating and exercise etc) and now we need to learn how to keep ourselves mentally well and what to do if someone we care about  is  having problems.”

Mike King’s Community Korero will take place at Te Ahu on Tuesday March 5th from 6 to 8 pm and is open to the whole community.

Read The Northern Advocate’s February 28th newspaper article here: An Audience with the King

Posted in: Parents and Parenting, Service-User Movement, Suicide Prevention/Support ⋅ Tagged: , , , , ,

Guide Provides Operational Advice to Councils on Early Intervention

March 2, 2013 2:47 pm ⋅

Five steps for investing in early intervention in order to prevent mental ill health among children and adolescents

Early and improved interventions for children and adolescents are among the most important investments in our future! Mental health among children and adolescents is a synchronisation project under SKL (the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions). They have developed a guide that aims to provide tangible, operational support to municipalities and county councils that want to invest systematically in early intervention for children and adolescents.

The guide is intended primarily for executives at municipal or county administrative level, such as the county council procurement director; the municipal social services director or director of education, as well as for civil servants who work in project management, analysis and drafting of management information in this area.

To review the article please click on the following link:

http://www.iimhl.com/iimhlupdates/swedish_document_specupdate_200213.pdf

 From the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership Update List

Contact: David Robinson david@iimhl.com

Posted in: News, Politics and Policy, Professional Development, Research, Service-User Movement, Social Change ⋅ Tagged: , ,

New Research out from BMC Psychiatry in Feb 2013

March 2, 2013 2:35 pm ⋅

Research article
 Childhood clumsiness and peer victimization: a case–control study of psychiatric patients
Bejerot S, Humble MB
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:68 (25 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

Research article
 A case-linkage study of crime victimisation in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders over a period of deinstitutionalisation
Short TB, Thomas S, Luebbers S, Mullen P, Ogloff JR
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:66 (20 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

* This study reports an increase in crime victimisation by people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders since services were moved to the community. It is the opinion of Engage Aotearoa that violence by people who are unwell is often due to a lack of responsive services and appropriate supports, rather than the mental-health condition itself. Stressed out family members and friends are not always the most appropriate supporters when things have reached crisis point. Voluntary respite services are highly restricted in accessibility. The current NZ system requires that someone has become a risk to themselves or others before acute services are provided. Crisis Team response times are renowned for being too long. This all creates space for escalation and victimisation before treatment and support can be accessed. This is a complex issue that extends well beyond mental-health problems themselves and reaches into the core of how we as a society support those who are experiencing a mental-health crisis.   

Research article
 Antipsychotic medications and cognitive functioning in bipolar disorder: moderating effects of COMT Val108/158 Met genotype
Arts B, Simons CJ, Drukker M, van Os J
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:63 (19 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

*Note: The results of this gene-environment study, if replicated, may partly explain why people with the same diagnosis can respond very differently to the same antipsychotic medication.

Research article
A 6-month randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of a lifestyle intervention for weight gain management in schizophrenia
Attux C, Martini LC, Elkis H, Tamai S, Freirias A, Camargo Md, Mateus MD, Mari Jd, Reis AF, Bressan RA
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:60 (18 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

*Note: Weight management strategies are important interventions for addressing a common side-effect of many anti-psychotic and some antidepressant medications. However, in the opinion of Engage Aotearoa, this article de-emphasises the role of medications in the weight-gain of people with schizophrenia diagnoses and incorrectly implies it is a direct consequence of the mental-health problem itself, when it is not. 

Research article
Perception of depressive symptoms by the Sardinian public: results of a population study
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:57 (16 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

*Note: These results show that the public sees a difference between depression as a response to loss (‘a normal response’) and clinical depression requiring professional attention.  In the opinion of Engage Aotearoa, the public (and the authors) appear to assume that diagnosable mental-health problems are ‘not normal responses’. This is an attitude that likely contributes to stigma about depression. Unfortunately this article does not acknowledge that clinical depression is indeed a normal response that can usually also be traced to previous difficult experiences. 

Research article
Substance use among inmates at the Eldoret prison in Western Kenya
Kinyanjui DW, Atwoli L
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:53 (13 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

Research article
Is virtual reality always an effective stressors for exposure treatments? Some insights from a controlled trial
Pallavicini F, Cipresso P, Raspelli S, Grassi A, Serino S, Vigna C, Triberti S, Villamira M, Gaggioli A, Riva G
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:52 (11 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

Research article
Residual symptoms and functioning in depression: does the type of residual symptom matter? a post-hoc analysis
Romera I, Pérez V, Ciudad A, Caballero L, Roca M, Polavieja P, Gilaberte I
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:51 (11 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

Research article
CBT for depression: a pilot RCT comparing mobile phone vs. computer
Watts S, Mackenzie A, Thomas C, Griskaitis A, Mewton L, Williams A, Andrews G
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:49 (7 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

Research article
Influence of personal and environmental factors on mental health in a sample of Austrian survivors of World War II with regard to PTSD: is it resilience?
Tran US, Glück TM, Lueger-Schuster B
BMC Psychiatry 2013, 13:47 (4 February 2013)
[Provisional PDF]

*Note: This research suggests a humorous and challenge-focused attitude to stress and trauma is associated with resilience to PTSD. Environmental elements showed associations with resilience to PTSD symptoms. The authors conclude the socio-environmental factors are simply consequences of PTSD symptoms. However, it is also possible that these factors are directly contributing to the symptoms and that resolving them would improve resilience to PTSD. 

Posted in: Online Resources, Psychiatric Medication, Research ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Govt Considers New Way of Contracting for Mental-Health Services: Social Bonds

March 2, 2013 12:43 pm ⋅

NZ Council of Social Services – Social Bonds

The Ministry of Health and Treasury have been investigating if Social Bonds can be used in New Zealand.  They are being used in limited ways in England, Australia and the USA.

What are Social Bonds?

Along with other initiatives like social lending, and microlending, social bonds are a way to access funding for the NGO sector outside of government. Government guarantees the investor a return on their investment if a pre-determined set of social outcomes are achieved.

The pure form of working with social bonds is as follows; ( the final idea maybe a hybrid of bonds and government funding)

  • The provider wishes to provide services and will work with a government agency to decide outcomes and the payment that will be made if outcomes successfully achieved. The agreed amount should cover both the cost of service plus an agreed reward for achieving the desired outcomes.
  •  The provider then finds an investor(s) who will fund the cost of the service.  Eg: a corporate, or a philanthropic organisation.
  •  At the term of the contract, if the outcomes have been met, government will then pay the amount agreed to the provider and/or investor.

Points to understand:

Government does NOT pay upfront.  Government will contract for results and pay after an agreed period if the service outcomes have been achieved.  If, for example, the service contract is for 3-5 years, the payment from government will not occur until that contract has been concluded and outcomes met

Possible Benefits:(from seminar in Wellington with representatives of Health and Treasury)

  • Providers will not be required to explain to government how they achieve outcomes.  This will give more opportunity to deliver the best way rather than the required way.
  •  There should be less paperwork from government.
  •  There should be greater flexibility with resources from external sources, money could be paid immediately rather than drip fed over time, and organisations could have longer term contracts to enable outcomes to be achieved.
  •  Organisations receiving funding from external sources would not be tied to political terms and ministerial imperatives.

Possible Risks and questions:

  • May not be able to agree to outcomes.
  •  May not be able to prove outcomes.
  •  What if you fail to provide outcomes, yet owe an external funder back the upfront investment plus interest?
  •  What are the mechanisms that will enable payment from government?
  •  If philanthropic organisations spend their grant monies on these projects, what happens to other applicants who are not involved with social bonds who normally receive funding from these sources?
  •  How do organisations make sure that the external providers of funding are appropriate?  Eg: gun manufacturers etc

This is clearly a shift of risk from government to the NGOs and to finance providers in the marketplace.  Those working on the Social Bonds Project are asking these questions.

  • What would the risks, costs and benefits be?
  • What outcomes could services aim for?
  • How would success in achieving outcomes be measured?
  • When and how would groups be paid?

The scoping project will run to June 2013 when a paper will be ready for cabinet to consider whether a social bond pilot should take place in New Zealand.  Please ensure you attend any seminars near you to get fuller information on this alternative procurement route being considered.

Posted in: Disability Issues, News, Politics and Policy, Service-User Movement, Social Change ⋅ Tagged: , , , , ,

John Read Interviewed on Take It From Us

February 26, 2013 11:41 am ⋅

On Take It From Us on Tuesday 26th, is guest Professor John Read, of the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland, sharing some of the highlights of his time in New Zealand before returning to the United Kingdom. Take it From Us will canvass his views on the strengths and weakness of our mental health system, what are the priorities for the future, and what’s important to achieve recovery.

Listen live on 104.6FM at 12.30pm or online www.planetaudio.org.nz

If you miss the live broadcast, listen for the next seven days @ www.planetaudio.org.nz/takeitfromus 

or Catch up on the last four shows online
www.likeminds.org.nz 

And don’t forget the Facebook page www.facebook.com/takeitfromus

Posted in: Families/Whanau, Online Resources, Parents and Parenting, Research, Service-User Movement, Social Change ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,

Hikoi for Better Mental Healthcare Choices Departs Auckland from Aotea Square

February 20, 2013 3:00 pm ⋅

ANNIES FAREWELL FROM AUCKLAND

It’s now confirmed that Annie Chapman’s send-off from Auckland will be from Aotea Square starting at noon on Friday 22nd. All welcome!!

Annie will continue her way along the Te Araroa Trail on her Hikoi to Wellington to seek better mental healthcare choices for those who experience mental-health problems.

Sign the petition to the NZ government and make your voice count!

http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/to-the-new-zealand-government-minister-of-health-honourable-tony-ryall-provide-healthy-choices-for-people-in-mental-health-care-in-new-zealand

BEYOND AUCKLAND

  • Paeroa: 27th Feb. War Memorial Hall (supper Room) 7.00 p.m.
  • Thames: 28th Feb. (Possibly 2.30 p.m. at Te Korowai, still to be confirmed)

(Thames/Paeroa contact Beccy Dove, Enviroschools Facilitator | Ph 07 8627113, Cell 021 1448539)

Dates & Some locations from here are tentative.

  • Hamilton 7-9 March
  • Possibly Cambridge
  • Possible side trip to Rotorua
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumarunui
  • Owhango
  • Te Porere Redoubt
  • Whakapapa Village (if Tongariro Crossing remains closed)
  • National Park
  • Mangapurua Landing
  • Whanganui (via Te Awa …. awesome!!)
  • Possible side trip to New Plymouth
  • Turakina
  • Bulls
  • Fielding
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Waikanae
  • Paraparaumu
  • Porirua
  • Wellington!!…. Mid May

Stay in the loop on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/events/317503728358665/

Posted in: Community Participation, Service-User Movement ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Press Release: Details Confirmed for Mike King’s Community Korero and Kaitaia College Seminars

February 20, 2013 2:50 pm ⋅

Press Release: Engage Aotearoa & Key to Life Charitable Trust

For Immediate Release | 20 Feb 2013

Mike King Visits Kaitaia to Throw Solutions at Suicide 

Popular comedian and radio talk-show host Mike King will visit Kaitaia on the 5th and 6th of March for a series of seminars to reduce suicide in the Far North. On the evening of the 5th, King will lead a Community Korero at Te Ahu, accompanied by musician Ruia Aperahama (What’s the Time Mr Wolf, Southside of Bombay, Songs from the Inside). The following day, King and Aperahama will present two seminars for junior and senior students at Kaitaia College, called It’s Cool to Korero.

In It’s Cool to Korero, King will talk with Kaitaia College students about how he survived growing up. Mike’s is the story of a kid who wanted to fit in. It is about wanting to be part of the cool group but being 4’11 with buck teeth and big ears and needing a miracle to make it happen. Then one day he discovered he had a gift to make people laugh and he went from being bullied, to being liked and then many years later becoming a bully himself. Mike will share tips on how to deal with bullies and also why bullies do what they do. Most of all, he will speak about why it is important to talk rather than “have conversations with yourself.”  King says his main point is that “in life there will always be hurdles and heartbreak, but with perseverance, support and an attitude of hope, great things will happen.”

Mike King’s Community Korero will take place at Te Ahu from 6 – 8 pm on Tuesday the 5th of March. Entry is free and all are welcome. At the Community Korero, King will speak about his battle with depression, addiction and his ongoing journey back to recovery, including the mistakes he made along the way and the things that made a difference. He will discuss the things he learnt from the hard times and how all those mistakes were blessings in disguise. Both talks will be followed by an opportunity to ask questions and share strategies. This is a not-to-be-missed chance for the community to come together and explore how to support our rangatahi and each other to survive and thrive. Stacks of useful free resources will be available for community members to take away for later use. King says, “It is time to stop throwing negatives at the problem of suicide and time to start throwing positives at a solution!”

This initiative was organised by ex-Kaitaia College student, Miriam Larsen-Barr, who operates a mental-health promotion project called Engage Aotearoa and is currently completing a doctorate in clinical psychology in Auckland. Visiting home for the summer, Larsen-Barr was struck by how many sad stories and suicides had happened in the community in the past year.  Larsen-Barr says “I do all this work in other places to promote helpful ways of thinking about mental-health problems and make it easier to approach recovery. It seemed wrong to come home to holiday and not share those resources with the town that grew me.”

Mike King is best known for his role as a comedian and host of the Radio Live talk-show The Nutters Club. But King is also involved in The Key to Life Charitable Trust, an organisation that aims to achieve a zero suicide-rate in New Zealand.  King and Larsen-Barr met through their shared passion for preventing suicide (both have been working on projects to tell people’s recovery stories) and when King received the call to make a difference in Kaitaia, he leapt at the chance. King and Aperahama are both donating their time to the cause, The Mental-Health Foundation of NZ is providing additional take-home resources and local organisations Te Runanga o Te Rarawa and The Beachcomber Restaurant have sponsored the initiative to ensure it goes ahead.

More information can be found on Engage Aotearoa’s Mental-Health News and Events Blog at http://www.engagenz.co.nz/?p=3989

_ _ _ _ ENDS _ _ _ _

 

Posted in: Addiction/Substance Abuse, Community Participation, Engage Updates, Families/Whanau, Maori Communities, Men, News, Older People and Aging, Parents and Parenting, People with Disabilities, Recovery Stories, Service-User Movement, Social Change, Suicide Prevention/Support, Women, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,