Kate often gives the MHF’s free information pamphlets to patients as they leave the clinic, finding it to be a subtle and safe way of “planting the seed” around mental health support.
The pamphlets offer information for people when they, or someone they care about, first experience mental distress or are diagnosed with a mental health condition.
“As a patient, it can be difficult when you’re not well to take on all the verbal information given to you in a health space,” says Kate.
“Handing them an MHF pamphlet is a gentle way of introducing a level of communication around what they, and their family, needs to be aware of and where to seek help.”
Providing something tangible
Kate says having a resource to take home means patients have something tangible that they can digest when they’re in a more comfortable space.
“It can be overwhelming to bare yourself to someone you don’t know well. While a resource may be a small thing, it can help. Patients can write on them, refer to them and share them with family. Then, when they’re ready, they can speak to us.”
Kate also gives patients attending their first antenatal appointment at the clinic the MHF’s postnatal depression resource, which details perinatal mental health conditions.
“It’s a heads up to patients about what can and might occur after their baby is born. Pregnancy is hard on both our bodies and our mental health. It’s okay not to be okay, but it’s important to know what to look out for and when to ask for help,” says Kate.
A trusted source of mental health resources
Since 1977, the MHF has been Aotearoa New Zealand’s trusted, respected and independent voice for mental health and wellbeing. As a charity, it aims to have a positive, measurable impact on all New Zealanders by equipping them with the tools to lift mental wellbeing and support one another, and by advocating for a fairer society and mental health system.
Each year, the MHF provides approximately one million free mental health resources — both in print and online — to support workplaces, schools, communities, whānau and individuals across Aotearoa. These resources are evidence-based and draw on lived experience and te ao Māori expertise and informed by best practice.
Kate also orders MHF resources for the centre’s health coach, health improvement practitioners (HIPs) and other nurses to use to help support its 8400 enrolled patients.
“As a nurse, I’m in the privileged position of being able to support people. There are times when a patient may be overwhelmed and not have the words to express what they are experiencing, so to be able to give them a resource that I know is evidence-based is important.”
Empowering people to support themselves and others when in distress
- In any given year, one in five New Zealanders are affected by mental distress or illness.1
- Over half of all New Zealanders aged 15-24 experience anxiety or depression, and the number of young people with moderate to high distress has nearly doubled since 2016/17.1
The MHF’s free suicide prevention resources and tools, such as safety plans, are designed to help people better understand and support their own, or someone else’s, mental distress and/or illness experiences and recovery journeys.
There is no health without mental health
Just like physical health, mental health is something we all have. Good mental health and wellbeing boosts our physical health, creates resilience and helps us to feel happy, confident and secure.
To bolster this wellbeing messaging, the Tasman Medical Centre’s walls are decorated with MHF’s Five Ways to Wellbeing posters that show simple, proven actions that anyone can use to help find balance and improve their mental wellbeing.
“The posters are a simple way of reminding people that they need to look after their whole self to stay mentally and physically well,” says Kate.
To find out more about the work of the Mental Health Foundation or to view, order or download its free resources, visit www.mentalhealth.org.nz
Reference
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- Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction. (2018). He Ara Oranga: Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction.
- This advertising content was paid for by the Mental Health Foundation. Hosted content may not represent the views of Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand nor the New Zealand Nurses Organisation.