Bold enough to dare
The way, the will — and the courage to change
HORIZON NEW DROP OUT NOW
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This edition asks some searching questions about where mental health reform is heading, what meaningful system change requires and whether we have the will to see it through.
Dr Barbara Disley looks back at the recommendations made in He Ara Oranga and assesses where progress has been made — and where much more remains to be done. Rob Warriner argues that New Zealand has often had “the way”, but what has been missing is “the will”.
Kerri Butler explains why processes grounded in te ao Māori make system change not only possible, but inevitable. De Backman Hoyle asks what would happen if we designed our mental health system around relationships rather than individuals, while Mathew Farry explores the courage required to stay in relationship through difficult conversations.
Asha Jean Vassiliadis challenges us to believe lived experience and act on what people tell us, without waiting for further research. Rebecca Jayde examines the social and economic consequences of failing to support mothers when they need it.
In innovation, Stephen Blythe introduces the second Hauora Hinengaro Hui Taumata Mental Health Conference, presented in partnership with TheMHS Learning Network. Our friends at Sonder share news of a new crisis stabilisation centre offering an alternative to hospital emergency departments, while Dr Gleb Tsipursky calls for an AI escalation trace as health organisations introduce artificial intelligence into their work.
Steve Rothwell writes about the “peculiar cruelty” of being told to get back to who you were before trauma. Luke Benton asks whether the problem is not us, but the world we have built. Anna Christophorou reflects on five years of Speed Freaks and its growth from a running initiative into a community-led movement. And Ivan Yeo asks what we really mean when we use the words “mental health”.
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