Children’s counselling service ChatBus forced to close
The children’s mobile counselling service ChatBus is closing its doors in the face of rising costs brought on by increasing demand.
Mental health
Unconsented ECT numbers soar
Unconsented ECT numbers soar
The number of patients who had electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) against their will appears to have skyrocketed in New Zealand.
Group stresses value of reaching out
Group stresses value of reaching out
The difference one person can make by reaching out and connecting with another cannot be underestimated, says the chairwoman of a Waitaki group tackling the issue of suicide.
Art sale boosts foundation coffers
Art sale boosts foundation coffers
More than $12,500 was raised during an art auction and party in Arrowtown on Saturday night for the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, and to support a cycle tour of New Zealand.
Outsourcing result of commission staff cuts
Outsourcing result of commission staff cuts
It is "just silly" the now-defunct Mental Health Commission spent $346,800 on a single outside contractor during 2011-12 to develop a mental health plan, Labour MP and mental health spokesman Iain Lees-Galloway says.
More community care in mental health, addiction plan
More community care in mental health, addiction plan
A Southern District Health Board committee approved a three-year mental health and addiction plan yesterday, amid apprehension of tightening funds for mental health.
Support for mental health campaign
Support for mental health campaign
A campaign for a mental health facility in Central Otago is gathering support, and all that is lacking is funding.
Co-existence of problems highlighted
Co-existence of problems highlighted
Up to 70% of people who sought help for mental health or addiction problems actually had a problem with both, and the health sector was failing them, those attending a mental health workshop heard.
Ring-fence formula up for review
Ring-fence formula up for review
The National Health Board has agreed to review the mental health "ring-fence" funding formula for the Southern District Health Board to find out whether an "aberration" is forcing it to overspend in the area, chairman Joe Butterfield says.
Concern no patient counselling
Concern no patient counselling
A group of Dunedin psychotherapists is concerned there is no counselling service for cancer patients at Dunedin Hospital following a staff resignation, but a limited service will be available from mid-February.
Different approach for mentally unwell
Different approach for mentally unwell
As Otago's mental-health sector braces for spending cuts, a visiting Italian psychiatrist says the secret of a successful mental-health service is integrating physical and mental health and allowing people access to 24-hour help centres.
Approaches to liberty fraught with difficulty
Approaches to liberty fraught with difficulty
Notions of liberty and freedom are problematic when it comes to imposing mental-health compulsion orders, University of Otago law Prof John Dawson told mental-health nurses in Dunedin yesterday.
Mental health ward move closer
Mental health ward move closer
Approval for the Southern District Health Board's district annual plan means building work should soon begin on the relocation of Dunedin Hospital's acute mental health ward to Wakari Hospital.
Happiness rates beyond wealth
Happiness rates beyond wealth
New Zealand would benefit considerably if more attention was paid to "Gross National Happiness" instead of simply to Gross National Product, a Canadian health specialist, Michael Pennock, says.
Safety close to her heart
Safety close to her heart
"If you make a difference for one family, then it's worthwhile." Since the death of her teenage son in 2003, Oamaru woman Helen Algar has been involved in raising public awareness about text-message bullying.
Health workers get an earful of hearing voices
Health workers get an earful of hearing voices
Confronting mental health staff with the internal voices many psychiatric patients hear was the basis of a workshop hosted by the Southern District Health Board yesterday.
IHC says clients are not affected by order
IHC says clients are not affected by order
The statutory management order on Idea Services will not affect Otago clients or their carers, Otago area manager Daniel Barnett says.
City clinic 'keeping flame alive'
City clinic 'keeping flame alive'
Psychotherapy was squeezed out of mental health by a management-run "business model", Ministry of Health mental health director Dr David Chaplow told a conference in Dunedin yesterday.
Concerns over mental health deficit
Concerns over mental health deficit
The Southern District Health Board says a looming mental health care deficit means some services may be reduced as the board seeks to balance its books.
'Uses of Sadness' author talks
'Uses of Sadness' author talks
Western culture seems "afraid of sadness", but this "soulful emotion" actually offers many opportunities for personal growth and development, visiting Australian counsellor and author Karen Masman says.