TEAM synergy and diversity are cited as some of the factors behind the success of a Whakatane-based counselling organisation.
The Eastern Bay of Plenty Primary Health Alliance mental health programme has been named as one of two finalists in the inaugural NZ Primary Healthcare Awards, for the best mental health programme in New Zealand.
Opotiki man and team leader Jamie Sullivan said the team provided a mental health service for people with mild to moderate mental health needs.
“We have a waiting list,” he said. “You can come and see us also when you are doing well – we’re not a bottom-of-the-cliff service.”
“Our staff are all registered social workers, nurses or drug-and-alcohol practitioners, and they all have long-term experience.”
When asked what factors had resulted in the success of the team, Mr Sullivan said they all worked well together.
“Although we are a small team, we can offer diversity, and we have the capacity to deliver te reo Maori services,” he said.
Photo Sven Carlsson OS0242-01
‘We have a youth worker who speaks full te reo Maori, so can deliver programmes. Male Maori counselling is part of our diversity.”
Mr Sullivan said the counselling team members tried their best to listen to the client’s world view.
“We can talk about anything, in a comfortable space, allowing people to find their own answers,” he said.
“We must be doing something right, because we got a thousand referrals.”
Mr Sullivan said neither he nor the team were against the medical model, but what they did instead was “just chatting and talking in confidence”.
The team also runs a men’s group that meets twice a month and has been operating for a couple of years.
“The group is sustainable, with between 10 and 20 people showing up at each meeting,” he said. “We didn’t put any parameters around that either.”
He said there was no requirement to talk in the group, which also went on fishing and biking trips.
The EBOP Primary Health Alliance is a finalist for the Habitat Group Best Mental Health Programme, with the awards website describing it as a well-received counselling service, rated by 91 per cent of clients as excellent to very good.
Mr Sullivan’s sister, lawyer Tania Te Whenua, said she understood the judges were particularly impressed with how the service dealt with the victims, first responders, whanau and friends who suffered trauma following the Whakaari/White Island eruption.
Mr Sullivan said after the eruption, the team had loosened the criteria for referral to the service.
“We did our best to reduce the stigma around counselling,” he said.
“We already have a waiting list, but we prioritised people impacted by Whakaari.”
Mr Sullivan said there were eight members in the team, including himself, five of them working as councillors.
The other contender for the mental health award is Counties Manukau District Health Board with its Wellness Support mental health model.
Winners will be honoured at a gala held at the Auckland waterfront’s Shed 10 on February 29, 2020.