Sharing voices

1. Sharing voices Central Region Like Minds Group Te Kowhao Porirua Massey University

2. MAORI MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING BY TRUE EXPERTS Te Roopu Pookai Taaniwhaniwha holds a Maori Like Minds Like Mine contract (LMLM). Te Kowhao is the name of the group who provide the LMLM services to the wider Wellington regions. “Kotahi te kowhao o te ngira, ka uru ko te miro maa, ko te miro whero, ko te miro pango” The needle has but one eye, through which must pass the black, the red and white threads

3. Nga Kete Waananga Hauora Maori Te Kete Waiora Which is protected by “Ruaumoko” God of Earthquakes & Volcanoes “Te ara a Ruaumoko” Maintaining wellness workshop Te Kete Wairangi Which is protected by “Whiro” God of negativity & sickness “Te hau a Whiro” Hearing Distressing Voices Simulation Te Kete Mauriora Which is protected by “Tane” God of knowledge and creator of life “Te ara wharoaroa a Tane” Recovery approaches workshop

4. BECAUSE YOU’RE WORTH IT! Overcoming our personal barriers “Te huarahi – the journey” • Finding help before its too late • Self belief – & having people who believe in you • Relationships – key like minded people

5. “I learnt to acknowledge the feelings and worries” “I learnt to be less judgemental & get to know their story first” “I learnt that the level of mental illness experienced is like nothing else anyone can imagine & you just need to show so much support and understanding” Producing well informed nurses“Sharing Voices” “I learnt what can hinder tangata whaiora recovery” “I learnt good insight into the difficulty of communicating while hearing voices” “I learnt what can help tangata whaiora recovery” “I learnt that it is very important to always have a listening ear and to always be open to suggestions” • Producing well informed nurses • Evaluations • Our vision for the future

6. Our history • Like Minds Manawatu and undergraduate nursing education working together for 8 years • Three years with Massey in PN • This year in collaboration with Pathways to Wellbeing (PN) and Te Kowhao (Wellington) and the Massey campus in Wellington

7. Educational rationale • Service users as experts • Partnership and participation • Relationship building • First hand account of experiences • Addressing stigma and perceptions

8. Broader Service User Involvement • In education, research, governance • Endorsed in policy in UK and NZ for past 15 years

9. Benefits • Potential to revolutionise services, policy and education • Direct involvement opens dialogue • Need to accept that some service users are oppressed through service use

10. Educational preparation • Class learning and reading about: • Historical context of mental health care and recovery philosophy/movement • Interpersonal skill development • Recovery orientated interventions and critical thinking about psychiatric understandings & mainstream approaches • Social inclusion, citizenship and family inclusion • Self-awareness, emotional competence and developing critical thinking and reflective skills

11. O’Hagan (1995:16) (in Crowe, O’Malley and Gordon, 2001) Identifies that nurses need to heed what mental health service users all over the world are saying: • We want voluntary not coercive services • We want less pills and more assistance to regain the social and material opportunities we have lost – a better income, secure housing, work, friends, partners, self-esteem and a place in the world • We want the power to order the services we choose and close down the ones we don’t like

12. O’Hagan 1995 • We want the skills and resources to run our own services • We want services and opportunities that are tailored to fit our experiences and values • We what services and opportunities that meet our needs as we perceive them • We want services and opportunities that recognise and use our competence.

13. Pathways to Wellbeing Like Minds Consumer leadership Working with allies Recovery voices ‘Hearing Voices’