Introducing Waitemata Asian Mental Health Cultural Support Coordination Services
Kai Xin Xing Dong reports on Asian Mental Health Cultural Support Coordination Services (AMHCS) at Waitemata DHB, Asian Health services. We talk to Miss Feng, AMHCS team leader, about the services and, more generally, how the New Zealand Health system operates.
New Zealand has 21 district health boards (DHBs) in charge of population health in their specific areas. Usually when people talk about a DHB they are referring to a hospital and its services.
Waitemata DHB is one of three Auckland DHBs and covers the North Shore, West Auckland and Rodney. It provides medical support to 48,000 people who live in those areas. Its services cater to the biggest population in the country so it is therefore the biggest secondary service in New Zealand. North Shore Hospital is part of the Waitemata DHB.
There are many ethnicities living in the Waitamata region, including Maori, Pacific, Asian, refugees and new migrants or migrants. The Asian population is currently the second largest.
Waitemata DHB, therefore, is faced with some particular ethnic issues, such as many people are unable to use health services due to language barriers, and there are those who do not understand the New Zealand health system.
To ensure that Asian or refuges are getting equal access to health services, Waitemata health services have increased responsiveness.
Increased awareness of cultural competency
The Waitemata Asian Health Clinical Service provides a wide range of enhancements, including a policy of having an increased awareness of cultural competency.
Asian Mental Health Cultural Support was established in September 2007. Since then it has received many referrals and enabled people to receive better mental health care. Currently there are over 170 clients being supported by the AMHS.
The service provides culturally diverse professionals to match language and cultural needs Staff provide services either in inpatient or community settings.
Miss Feng says services provided for Waitemata DHB clients include:
- Liaison between the clinical team and clients or family members to ensure good communication
- Providing a cultural assessment and advice to the clinical team
- Providing mental health information to family
- Providing counseling or community support
- Providing referral to clients or family members when necessary
- Providing support and information to clients or family about New Zealand mental health and community mental health services
- Supporting clients to discover their strengthen and facilitating recovery
- Focusing on the clients' best interests.
Cultural barriers can lead to mental illness
Miss Feng says lack of support in a new environment and unfamiliarity with New Zealand society could potentially impact on people’s mental health. At the same time there are services that might also have a lack of understanding and knowledge about migrants’ and refugees’ mental health issues. As a result this can sometimes create a delay for people who might need help urgently.
Language difficulties can also present a barrier to being integrated into mainstream society, this might increase social isolation. As a result, some can feel lonely or depressed.
Some might know they are experiencing mental illness but are reluctant to seek help because they are worried about bringing shame to their family. This delay in getting the help they need can lead to severe mental illness. Migrants and refugees need additional support, because of this tendency not to seek or accept mental health treatment.
Many Asian clients end up receiving treatment under the compulsory Mental Health Act.
Team provides cultural transition and agency liaison
Waitemata DHB Asian Mental Health Service team can provide the cultural transition needed to support these people. It is this uniqueness of the service which ensures their social needs are taken into consideration when trying to maximize the recovery process.
The service also has trans-cultural psychiatrists experienced in working with diverse ethnicities. They provide Asian Wellbeing Workshops and invite guests to talk about varied mental health topics.
Recently, AMHS has added a parental workshop to help Asian communities better understand what they can do to support their children in a bi-cultural environment. The service provides other workshops, such as the Wellness Recovery Action plan (WRAP).
Miss Feng says the team works closely with other agencies. For example, they liaise with Work and Income Support or Housing Support to get clients the benefits they are entitled to. The service also links to organisations that provide long term support.
They also advocate on the client’s behalf, if the client allows it, giving input and collaborating with family members. If the family member needs helps and support they would also be assisted by the team.
Case study
A new migrant was experiencing difficulty in the New Zealand environment - there was a language barrier, a lack of social support and a change of social status. After some time the person experienced mental illness. His GP referred him to AMHCS.
He is now supported and understood. He made a WRAP plan, and every time he feels down he refers back to this and works closely with his mental health worker. Because of his hard work and the support from the support worker he is once again able to work and is recovering from his mental illness experience.
Who can apply for AMHCS assistance?
Miss Feng says any Asian person who experiences depression, anxiety, mood disorders or any form of mental illnesses, and who is currently receiving services from Waitemata Clinical Services, such as a psychiatrist, GP or nurse, and is currently living within the Waitemata region, can be accepted either by self-referral or through a GP, psychiatrist, psychologist, counselor or social worker.
For more information please go to the AMHCS website.
