HORIZON is TheMHS NZ media partner - Auckland Nov 5

Register to join TheMHS Learning Network and Te Hiringa Mahara - Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission to stand together in shaping a better future for mental health. Horizon is the appointed media partner for the event.

The October issue of HORIZON will feature contribution from speakers and delegates from the.Brisbane event, where HORIZON was also media partner

Here's staff writer Sophie Woodger's take on the event to whet your appetite

If conversations at TheMHS Conference are any indication, the future of mental health will only arrive once we dismantle the clinical ceiling, centre lived experience and stop pretending the system is any less fragmented than it was 25 years ago.

With that depth of knowledge, why are we still looking forward for solutions instead of turning to the past?

Stigma the real emergency

We also heard about stigma being the real mental health emergency. The blunt takeaway from multiple sessions was this: if we don’t tackle stigma and discrimination head-on, everything else is window dressing. Once again, Indigenous knowledge points the way. Change doesn’t come from campaigns or slogans. It comes from social contact. People meeting people, stories being shared, humanity being recognised. 

When we imagine Mental Health in 2050, most of the conversation still circles around systems, services, and reform. Only one speaker raised the climate crisis.

• What happens to mental health when the environment itself becomes the source of trauma?
• When the crisis is collective, ongoing, and inescapable? What role do mental health services play when the emergency isn’t individual, but planetary? This isn’t a hypothetical scenario, its already happening, and yet it barely made its way on to the agenda. 

TheMHS marketing manager Kiara Grant writes

Are we ready to rethink mental health crisis — together?

This critical question sits at the heart of the upcoming event entitled Hauora Hinengaro: He ara tūroa: Mental Health: An enduring pathway., which will take place on November 5 at the Waipuna Hotel & Conference Centre, Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.

The inaugural Hauora Hinengaro conference will provide a platform for engagement among stakeholders from various disciplines and experiences within the mental health space. In 2025, our focus is Waenga mōrearea: He ara oranga : Amidst crisis and distress there are pathways to wellbeing. 

“It is timely to come together to discover where system improvement has already occurred, what is currently underway, what we can learn from international examples, and how we can work together to be a part of a better collective crisis response,” said Peter Gianfrancesco, Executive Director of TheMHS Learning Network.

REGISTER BELOW

Join TheMHS and Te Hiringa Mahara for a dynamic and engaging conference focused on action, insight, and collaboration. Use the code HORIZON for a $50 discount off all registration types and secure your spot now.

Learn more and register at: https://themhs.eventsair.com/themhs-forum-nz/registration