Category Archives: Politics And Policy

Impact of Welfare Reforms on People with Mental-Health Problems and Disabilities

July 21, 2013 6:57 pm ⋅ admin

Carmel Sepuloni, CEO of Vaka Tautua writes about the welfare reforms that came into effect on the 15th of July…

Welfare reforms and the impact on those living with mental health issues and/or disability

“The truth is that some view the recently announced welfare reforms as the ‘kick in the butt’ that the unemployed need to get them actively looking for work. If only it were that simple. If only jobs were plentiful and barriers to employment didn’t exist.

I decided to look specifically at the changes in relation to those living with disability and / or with mental health issues – at the end of the day we at Vaka Tautua need to know how our Pacific clients are impacted by these changes.

When looking over the submissions to this bill there was no mistaking that there is strong support and appreciation for appropriate employment. No one denied the positive impact that appropriate employment can have on people’s physical, mental, emotional, social and financial wellbeing. There was general acceptance of the changes to the benefit titles – in fact some felt that this was a positive move, citing a negative stigma attached to previous titles. However there were some very real and serious concerns raised about the legislation.“

Keep Reading on the Vaka Tautua website…

Posted in: Employment / Work, News, Pasifika Communities, Politics and Policy ⋅ Tagged: Carmel Sepuloni, Vaka Tautua, Welfare Reforms, Welfare reforms and the impact on those living with mental health issues and/or disability

A 1970s Teacher Gives Her Class a Lesson They Won’t Forget

July 3, 2013 5:03 pm ⋅ admin

If you have an interest in issues like self-worth, stigma, discrimination and equality, you might like this video of one teacher’s experiment with her 3rd Grade classroom for National Brotherhood Week in the 1970s (might be earlier – it’s hard to tell). This is one of those old experiments that would never get through a modern-day ethics committee, but that nonetheless teach us a lot about what it is to be a human being in the world.

Upworthy writes:

“1:30: This teacher begins a study that will be talked about for 40 years.
3:00: She re-creates segregation and racism in her classroom.
7:45: Mrs. Elliott flips the entire class on their heads.
10:00 Jane Elliot makes the most profound discovery about us all
11:43: The students learn something that the world is still struggling to.

There are too many great moments to point out. Just watch.”

Click here to watch the video on Upworthy.

Posted in: Cultural Considerations, Engage Updates, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Online Resources, Politics and Policy, Research, Social Change ⋅ Tagged: National Brotherhood Week, Teacher Discrimination Experiment on 3rd Grade Students, Upworthy

Petition for Better Mental-Healthcare Choices Presented to Parliament: What Next?

June 14, 2013 12:54 pm ⋅ admin

Annie Chapman completed her Hikoi for Better Mental-Healthcare Choices on Tuesday the 11th of July and presented the final Petition for Better Mental-Healthcare Choices to members of parliament on the steps of the Beehive.

Chapman writes, “Well, the deed is done!! Six months after setting off from Cape Reinga, I handed over the paper petition with 1053 signatures to Paul Hutchison, who presented it to Parliament today. I will hear back from the Health Select Committee, probably in just over a week, of when the petition will be considered by the Committee and will be invited to make a submission at that time.”

The petition presentation began with the final leg of the Hikoi as Annie made her way from the Botanic Rose Gardens to the Beehive with a collection of supporters. The procession reached parliament at midday where they were joined by a crowd of about 20 and at 12.30 the politicians arrived: Dr Paul Hutchison (National MP and chair of the Health Select Committee); Annette King (Labour Spokesperson for Health and member of the H.S.C.) Barbara Stewart (NZ First M.P. and member of H.S.C.); Dr Jian Yang (National M.P. and deputy chair of H.S.C.) and Louisa Wall (Labour M.P for Manurewa).

You can still help the Hikoi get results by making a submission to the health select committee about the Petition for Better Mental-Healthcare Choices.

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

Email chairperson of Health Select Committee Paul Hutchison paul.hutchison@parliament.govt.nz

Posted in: Community Participation, News, Politics and Policy, Psychiatric Medication, Service-User Movement, Social Change ⋅ Tagged: Annette King, Annie Chapman, Barbara Stewart, Beehive, Health Select Committee, Hikoi for Better Mental Healthcare Choices, Jian Yang, Louisa Wall, Parliament, Paul Hutchison, Petition, Presentation

Consultation on Proposal to Change Home-Based Support Services in WDHB Area

June 1, 2013 3:34 pm ⋅ admin

C O N S U L T A T I O N ON PROPOSAL TO CHANGE HOME-BASED SUPPORT SERVICES

Waitemata District Health Board are proposing to change the current model of care for the provision of Home and Community Support Services funded within the Waitemata District Health Board area.

Waitemata District Health Board is consulting with its communities and stakeholders on a proposal that may change the model of care for home-based support services within the district. The aim of the proposed model is to ensure clients receive services based on the level of need and that they are empowered to achieve optimal functioning and independence.

Waitemata DHB encourage you to provide feedback.

PROPOSAL

The proposal and other relevant documents are available on the Waitemata District Health Board website.

View Online – Visit: www.waitematadhb.govt.nz to view the proposal and other relevant documents.

Request a hard copy – contact Imelda Quilty-King, Community Engagement Coordinator, Waitemata DHB on mobile: 0212236099 or by email: hbssconsultation@waitematadhb.govt.nz if you wish to request a hard copy or if you have any other query on this proposal.

FEEDBACK

Online – Visit www.waitematadhb.govt.nz to complete a survey using survey monkey.

By post – Request a hard copy or print off the feedback form from the

website and post it the Waitemata District Health Board.

Request a Face to Face meeting – The Waitemata DHB is not holding public meetings however your organisation/group is welcome to request a face-to-face meeting with us by contacting Imelda Quilty-King, Community Engagement Coordinator, Waitemata DHB on mobile: 0212236099 or by email: hbssconsultation@waitematadhb.govt.nz

Feedback closes at 5pm, Monday 24 June 2013.

Posted in: Community Participation, Families/Whanau, Older People and Aging, Parents and Parenting, People with Disabilities, Politics and Policy, Service-User Movement, Social Change, Support, Trauma ⋅ Tagged: Changes to Home-Based Support Services, Feedback Survey, Meeting Request, Proposal, Public Consultation, Waitemata District Health Board, WDHB

Hearing Voices Network Releases Position Paper on DSM-5

May 28, 2013 12:45 am ⋅ admin

Hearing Voices Network UK has released a position statement on the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), calling for input from the wider community. Read on for an excerpt and click the link at the bottom to keep reading and leave your comments.

“Position Statement on DSM 5 & Psychiatric Diagnosis”

“DSM 5, the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – often referred to as the ‘psychiatric bible’ – has now been released in the wake of huge controversy and debate. The alternative classification system, ICD, is based on exactly the same principles. Some of the world’s most eminent psychiatrists have spoken out about the current system.

The former director of the US’s largest funding body for mental health research, the NIMH, recently described DSM as ‘totally wrong, an absolute nightmare’. The chair of the DSM 5 committee admitted that ‘We have been telling patients for several decades’ that the biological causes of distress are about to be discovered, but ‘We’re still waiting.’ Another senior psychiatrist said, ‘Patients deserve better.’ In the UK, clinical psychologists have challenged the use of diagnosis and the ‘illness’ model.

The Hearing Voices Network, alongside many of our professional allies in psychology and psychiatry, has serious concerns about the way we currently understand, categorise and respond to mental distress . We also recognise the confusion that can be caused when accepted facts, often presented to service users as truths, are challenged.

We believe that people with lived experience of diagnosis must be at the heart of any discussions about alternatives to the current system. People who use services are the true experts on how those services could be developed and delivered; they are the ones that know exactly what they need, what works well and what improvements need to be made. This statement outlines the main issues, as we see them, and invites people on the receiving end of a diagnosis to have a voice in this debate.”

HVN Position Statement on DSM5 and Diagnoses: Download & distribute the pdf file

IIMHL Updates Now Online

May 23, 2013 5:22 pm ⋅ admin

You can now read the archive of the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership Updates online.

Follow this link to the IIMHL Update Archive.

Posted in: Online Resources, Politics and Policy, Professional Development, Service-User Movement, Social Change ⋅ Tagged: Archive, E-Newsletter, IIMHL, IIMHL Update, International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership

Hikoi for Better Mental-Healthcare Choices Builds Up to Petition Presentation at Parliament

May 18, 2013 6:56 pm ⋅ admin

Posted in: Community Participation, Families/Whanau, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Maori Communities, Men, Older People and Aging, Parents and Parenting, Pasifika Communities, People with Disabilities, Politics and Policy, Rainbow / LGBTQI+ Community, Service-User Movement, Social Change, Women, Young People and Youth Issues ⋅ Tagged: Annie Chapman, Hikoi for Better Mental Healthcare Choices in NZ, Petition for Better Mental-Healthcare Choices in NZ, Petition Presentation Picnic, Wellington

IIMHL and IIDL Update – 15 MAY 2013

May 18, 2013 6:06 pm ⋅ admin

2013 Leadership Exchange

Copies of video interviews with delegates attending the Network Meeting are now available on the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership website, along with the whiteboard narratives and workshops notes: www.iimhl.com

Copies of keynote speakers’ presentations will be available shortly and IIMHL will also update you all on the formal evaluation in due course.

IIMHL Features

Sebelius: Bring mental illness out of the shadows

President Obama following lead of John Kennedy 50 years ago on improving access to care.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius speaks during the opening plenary of the National Health Policy Conference organized by The Academy Health February 4, 2013 in Washington, DC

Story Highlights

When untreated, condition takes a heavy toll on our society.
Part of improving care is ending the stigma.
The President seeks a national dialogue to get more young people to seek help.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/02/04/kathleen-sebelius-on-mental-health-care/1890859/

Creating A Place Of Healing and Forgiveness: The Trauma-Informed Care Initiative at the Women’s Community Correctional Center of Hawaii

Below is a link to a program brief that describes the Trauma-Informed Care Initiative at the Women’s Community Correctional Center of Hawaii, which is working to make the facility a “place of healing and forgiveness.” Blending traditional Native Hawaiian concepts with the latest research on trauma-informed practices, the facility’s leadership has created a unique collaborative process for organizational change that includes staff, inmates, former inmates, community members, and representatives of community-based human service agencies. With a focus on educating staff, inmates, community partners, and the public about the value of trauma-informed environments and practices in healing, TICI creates opportunities for women to “live a forgiven life.”

This technical assistance document was developed by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) and Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. (AHP) under contract for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and was written by Darby Penney.

http://www.nasmhpd.org/docs/NCTIC/7014_hawaiian_trauma_brief_2013.pdf

IIDL Feature

Self Directed Disability Support (SDDS): Building community capacity through action research

This Australian research project explores how people with disability manage the transition towards self-directed disability support. Set against a backdrop of substantial reform with the introduction of a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), it is a collaboration between representatives of people with a disability and academic institutions to “investigate the impact and effectiveness of changes to self directed options for people requiring support, informal carers and support providers. It will also be a formative baseline for a longitudinal study examining service delivery systems pre and post the introduction of the NDIS”.

http://www.sprc.unsw.edu.au/media/File/SDDS_research_plan_FINAL.pdf

2014 Leadership Exchange

The 2014 Leadership Exchange will be in England in June. City and date TBC soon.

Please note: IIMHL try to find articles, new policies, research that has been released or opinion pieces they think are interesting to reflect on. Sometimes those who receive these may feel is not accurate either for its use of data or not aligned with their views. IIMHL does not endorse any article it sends out as they try to rapidly share information.

Fran Silvestri

President and CEO, IIMHL

fran@iimhl.com

General enquiries about this update or for other IIMHL information please contact Erin Geaney at erin@iimhl.com.