Systems Change - Horizon

Leading organisational change for social citizenship

3 min read

CEO of Flourish , Mark Orr writes when we change structures or practice, pre must acknowledge the emotional impact, or the logic will not land. We have to speak to the head and the heart

Systems Change / BY Kiara Grant

Connect, collaborate, learn

2 min read

TheMHS Communications Lead Kiara Grant presents highlights from the inaugural forum on crisis response and mental health across Aotearoa.

Systems Change / BY Simon Kozak Editor

Solasta – a social enterprise with purpose

3 min read

At Solasta, clients receive more than just therapy — they experience care that is compassionate, personalised, and grounded in evidence. Wit

Systems Change / BY Rob Warriner

Alternative now

9 min read

Rob Warriner affirms that, in 2025, the irony of the label "Alternative to…" should not at all be lost. It is the “alternative” that should now be the standard.

Systems Change / BY Fionna Sutherland

Rethinking connection

4 min read

Fianna Sutherland celebrates TheMHS Brisbane and says connection isn’t just a theme for a conference. It’s a practice.

Systems Change / BY Simon Katterl

Housing, Human Rights, Healing

5 min read

Simon Katterl CEO Mental Health Lived Experience Peak Queensland says human rights are not an add-on to mental health. They are mental health.

Systems Change / BY Tracey Cannon

Healing Begins Where Comfort Ends

4 min read

On November 12, survivors of state and faith-based care will gather at the Ellen Melville Centre and all around Aotearoa, for a national day of remembrance, truth-telling, and solidarity.

Systems Change / BY Simon Kozak Editor

Rural Australia needs peer

4 min read

We caught up with Dr Belinda Fuss who observes -the challenge that the rural system isn’t built to allow for flexibility. It relies almost entirely on medical models and GP-based access points.

Systems Change / BY Romy Lee

“Cultural identity, we can’t keep tinkering with a broken system”

3 min read

Romy Lee, Principal Advisor lived experience at Asian Family Services observes Asian youth deal with cultural identity struggles, racism, and the complexities of migration

Systems Change / BY Dr Eve Hermansson-Webb

Diet Culture Costs Far More Than Treatment

6 min read

Dr Eve Hermansson knows eating disorders don’t happen in isolation — they grow out of a culture obsessed with thinness. Recovery is always possible, but prevention is crucial. We can all help shift the messages we consume, the words we use, and the way we treat our bodies.

Systems Change / BY Shelwin Khan

Punish no more

3 min read

Shelwin Kahn says for many 501 returnees, their criminal history in Australia may not be immediately visible within New Zealand systems. When disclosure is necessary, their history can carry a significant psychological and social burden.

Systems Change / BY Ivan Yeo

High- and low-context communication

3 min read

Ivan Yeo, challenges us to listen carefully, to broader context being shared it often contains real clues to how Asians and Maori understand their wellbeing.

Systems Change / BY Renee Warren

Peer support isn’t what you think

3 min read

Renee Warren, CADS Consumer Advisor and co facilitator of the Sharing Space group says, "Peers often work in isolation. This group gives us the connection and support we need to stay strong and do our mahi well."

Systems Change / BY Magdel Hammond

Lived experience: A question of whakapapa and social justice

4 min read

Magdel Hammond, Lived Experience Leader writes the lived experience movement didn’t arise in a vacuum. Its roots are tangled in histories of state violence and abuse, colonisation, institutionalisation, and resistance.

Systems Change / BY Ivan Yeo

Private isolation or personal growth?

3 min read

Author and academic Ivan Yeo considers the cultural differences in how collective and individualist cultures approach mental health.