Foreword
Welcome to Issue 21 of MindNet.
Our thoughts are with our friends, family and colleagues in Christchurch who are coping with the aftermath of the September earthquake.
We know they are keeping themselves safe and working together as a community to support each other as the city recovers.
Early October, the Foundation promoted national events and activites for Mental Health Awareness Week 2010.
The theme was ‘Flourishing for everyBODY' and the Foundation encouraged everyone to focus on the positive aspects of life and the communities around them.
Throughout the week the Foundation released articles highlighting seven New Zealand communities that have seen the benefits of flourishing - Clendon Residents Group, Lyttelton's Timebank, Nelson's Victory, the New Lynn mall walkers, Opotiki's murals, the Porirua Community Guardians and the Whangarei Quarry Gardens.
In this issue we also bring you:
Results from the 2010 MindNet readership survey. Thanks to all who participated and congratulations to Douglas Alderson from Invercargill, who won the survey draw for a $50 MTA petrol voucher.
We hear about the Take 5 and Te Whare Marama creative group music sessions and how people with experience of mental illness learn to express themselves and connect with others through improvising music together.
Brigitte Sistig talks about her new introductory training programme for mental health professionals - yoga for wellbeing.
And our reading list this month takes a look at what's new in mental health promotion.
We hope you enjoy reading the articles in this issue and, remember, you can also share your feedback by leaving a comment at the bottom of each page.
We are always looking for case studies and profiles about people and projects in New Zealand with a focus on mental health promotion and wellness.
If you can recommend a wellness or mental health promotion service, project or programme that we could feature in MindNet - or would like to contribute an article yourself - please email mindnet@mentalhealth.org.nz
Naku iti-nei,
Judi Clements
