News

New education curriculum on the way for CPSLE workforce

CPSLE-image2


The Mental Health Education and Resource Centre (MHERC) is developing a new education curriculum tailored specifically for CPSLE (consumer, peer support and lived experience) leaders, managers, allies and those wanting to start or grow their practice.

The curriculum will sit alongside MHERC's current workforce training programmes and aims to offer a pathway for peer support specialists and individuals in the lived experience workforce to advance their roles.

Read more >

Caring for a shaken city - Christchurch's mental health sector continues to flourish and falter under the weight of many crises

SECTOR-OVERVIEW-STORY2


In 2021, 85,881 people accessed the mental health and addictions sector in Waitaha Canterbury.

As the reverberations from multiple earthquakes, the mosque shootings, a global pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis continue to be felt, the city’s collective mental health continues to suffer. 

Read more >

Introducing He Hikoi Manaaki Tuakana - Teina Peer Workforce in Te Tai Poutini, West Coast

Lake-Brunner

Purapura Whetū and Poutini Waiora alongside the Kā Pou Whenua project team are proud to introduce the first established kaupapa Māori Tuakana Teina peer service in Te Tai Poutini, West Coast, a significant milestone in the region's mental health and addiction services.

In 2022, Purapura Whetū and Poutini Waiora, conducted a comprehensive Māori workstream review of Mental Health and Addiction services in Waitaha and Te Tai Poutini.

Read more >

Mental illness discrimination in primary care common in New Zealand

DISC-NZ2

Prejudice towards those with a mental health or substance use condition is affecting quality of care in New Zealand, a new research paper by the University of Otago shows.

The results from a national online survey of 335 people with mental health or substance use conditions found that nine per cent of respondents reported sometimes or never being treated with respect and 21 per cent reported sometimes or never being listened to in primary care settings. 

Read more > 

Tinana Community Gym takes active approach to supporting mental wellbeing

tinana-1
More than 1,300 people have benefitted from the Tinana Community Gym’s holistic approach to mental health.

Launched by He Waka Tapu to help address inequities in physical and mental health outcomes for Māori, the gym provides free memberships and classes to the community.

Dozens of group training sessions are on offer each week, as well as access to personal trainers, equipment, health checks and assessments, massage, pop up clinics and health and nutrition classes. 

Read more >

 

New buildings at Hillmorton Hospital are “changing the narrative” about inpatient mental health care in Waitaha Canterbury

Hillmorton-building1


After numerous reviews, news reports and complaints about the poor state of New Zealand’s mental health units, newly opened facilities at Hillmorton Hospital are already making a big difference.

The $81.8 million project began in 2019, after the Government approved funding as part of its response to He Ara Oranga: Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction... 

Read more >

Online discussion groups continue to offer hope in a post-pandemic world

Talk-time-online-story2

Talk Time Online, a service offering free educational online discussion groups, continues to support hundreds of Cantabrians with their mental wellbeing.

The service began in 2020 in the middle of the global pandemic. Many mental health and addictions services had to close their doors, leaving vulnerable people without support.

The Mental Health Education and Resource Centre [MHERC] and Regional Alcohol and Drug [AOD] Consumer Advisor Marc Beecroft identified a need... 

Read more >

Book Review: Honouring Our Ancestors: Takatāpui, Two-Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQI+ Wellbeing

Honouring-our-ancestors

Nicholas Hansen, MHERC librarian, reviews Honouring Our Ancestors, a rigorous and challenging collection of essays.

An anthology of essays written by academics and leaders in the field of queer and indigenous wellbeing, “Honouring Our Ancestors” brings together research, theory and art in an often-neglected area.

Read more >