Reducing Discrimination

Reduce discrimination against people with mental illness

The Mental Health Commission's statutory requirements in this area are to work independently and with others to:

1. promote better understanding of mental illness by the community ;and
2. reduce stigma associated with mental illness and prejudice shown towards people with mental illness and their families and caregivers; and
3. eliminate inappropriate discrimination on the ground of mental illness against people with mental illness and their families and caregivers
   

Our work is concentrated in the following areas:

• Encouraging service user participation in all facets of mental health and the wider community
• Reduce compulsory treatment by working with District Health Boards to encourage service user-oriented, non-discriminatory practices in mental
• health care, with a special focus on the rights of service users
• Promote Advance Directives leaflet
• Lead and co-ordinate multi-agency group to implement the Multi-Agency Anti-Discrimination Plan (MAP). The Commission chairs the inter-agency
• committee (Like Minds, Office for Disability Issues, Health and Disability Commission, Human Rights Commission and Mental Health foundation)
• Policy work and government liaison on social inclusion issues, including housing, employment and income support and transport issues
  Researching stigma and discrimination.
• Work with media to reduce unfavourable and stereotypical coverage of mental illness. The Commission has produced three fact sheets on Mental Illness and Crime. These are:
  Mental Health Commission Fact Sheet 1: Mental Illness and Violent Crime (PDF, 54kb)
  Mental Health Commission Fact Sheet 2: Homicide and Mental Illness (PDF, 86kb)
  Mental Health Commission Fact Sheet 3: Mental Illness, Crime and the Justice System
  Researching stigma and discrimination.

Anti discrimination and service user focused publications

The Commission has published a number of relevant publications including:

• A recovery plan for acute mental health services in New Zealand: The Acute Crisis. 2005 - (PDF, 358kb)
• No Force Advocacy by Users and Survivors of Psychiatry. 2005 - (PDF, 304kb)
• Journeys of Despair, Journeys of Hope, Young Adults Talk About Severe Mental Distress, Mental Health Services and Recovery. 2005 (PDF, 502kb)
• The Effectiveness of Service User-Run or Service User Led Mental Health Services for People with Mental Illness: A Systematic Literature Review, 2005.
• Reducing Discrimination against People with Mental Illness, 2005 - (PDF, 265kb)
• Kia Manuia, a guide to mental health services for Pacific people, 2005 (PDF, 345kb)
• Discriminating Times? A re-survey of New Zealand print media reporting on mental health, 2005 (PDF, 620kb)
• Journeys Towards Equality: Taking Stock of New Zealand's Efforts to Reduce Discrimination Against People with Experience of Mental Illness, 2004 (PDF, 342kb)
•  Seclusion in New Zealand Mental Health Services, April 2004 (PDF, 142kb)
• A Pacific Perspective on the NZ Mental Health Classification and Outcomes Study (CAOS), February 2004 (Word, 218kb)
• Delivery of Cultural Assessment for Maori, 2004 (Word, 162kb)
• Mental Health Issues for Asians in New Zealand: A Literature Review, May 2003 (PDF, 919kb).
• Strengthening Our Foundations: Service-user roles in the mental health workforce, 2003 (Word, 255kb)
• Kia Mauri Tau! Narratives of Recovery from Disabling Mental Health Problems, 2002 (PDF, 428kb)
• Service-user Participation in Mental Health Services, a discussion document, 2002 (PDF, 112kb)
• Housing Blueprint checklist, 2001 (PDF, 1.5MB)
• Employment Blueprint checklist, 2001 (PDF, 274kb)
• A Gift of Stories, 1999
• A Travel Guide for people on the journeys towards equality, repect and rights for people who experience mental illness, 1998
•  The Commission has developed a Service User Workforce Development Strategy for the mental health sector 2005-2010 to provide training for those running consumer-led services and to encourage more service-users into mental health roles.

The Commission encourages and requires service-user participation in its work, and gets advice and feedback from a service-user reference group. Service-user participation in the mental health sector has been supported and encouraged through producing publications on service-user participation, fostering networks and paying for media training.

Mental health issues faced by Asian people have been the focus of a report and subsequent round of consultation. The 2003 report Mental Health Issues for Asians in New Zealand highlighted the need to improve the responsiveness of mental health services to the needs of Asian people. This was the first component of a larger Asian project.

A further report, Asian Mental Health Recovery (August 2003), presented a developing Asian view of recovery and identified ways to make recovery more relevant to Asian people. Asian community and government agency responses to the recommendations made in the earlier review are analysed here, alongside general comments on what may be required to ensure Asian mental well-being in New Zealand.

An anti-discrimination framework has been prepared and keen interest has been shown by agencies undertaken anti-discrimination work.

The mental health issues faced by Asian people are the focus of a report and subsequent round of consultation.