Database of New Zealand mental health research

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Principal contact
Name	Mr Barnaby Pace
Email	Email address is not available; please contact keadmin@tepou.co.nz for more information.
The research
Summary	Following on from recent research in a further attempt to assist Support Workers forge an identity in mental health service in New Zealand, a thematic analysis of job descriptions was conducted across six services which provide mental health rehabilitation and recovery programmes.
Objectives	To determine how mental health organisations view Mental Health Support Work
Study design	Selection criterion used for the current research stated that the agencies provided mental health / psychiatric recovery and rehabilitation services, which employees paraprofessionals in the role of support workers. Six organisations meeting this criterion from the Waikato region in New Zealand agreed to participate in the research project. The sample comprised of four community-based non-government organisations (NGO’s), one clinical-based government funded agency, and a Kaupapa Maori-based NGO. Kaupapa Maori services are design to cater for the specific needs of Maori clients. A thematic analysis was conducted for eight Community Mental Health Support Worker job descriptions. Common themes in role, responsibility and function were identified and subsequently divided into three fields: 1. Roles and responsibilities, 2. Skills and Knowledge, and 3. Qualifications. The organisations values and mission statements were collected and compared to the content of the job descriptions to determine the principle focus of the organisation: clinical, or community/whanau-based. Statistical analysis was conducted to determine the relative strength of the Role/Responsibilities, Skills and Knowledge, and Qualifications required across the mental health organisations examined.
Methods	Qualitative
Results	The results indicted that the support worker role, from an organisational perceptive, comprises of eight commonly occurring roles, and seven key skills. Key responsibilities indicated across service types included; 1. The development and subsequent maintenance of the therapeutic relationship with the identified client group. 2. The ability to meet key performance indicators as set by the agencies. 3. To advocate on behalf of the client group and offer support as required. 4. To be able to work as part of a team, and 5. To adhere to Health and Safety legislation and organisational policy. Supervision was also identified as a requirement of support workers for five of the six organisations.
Conclusions	From the information collected we are able to extract and refine the core competencies employers are looking for in mental health support workers. Core skills, roles and responsibilities are able to be clearly identified across the service type’s suggestions that the following can be viewed as fundamental requirements for Mental Health Support Workers in New Zealand.
Key Descriptors	Employment, Workforce Development
Disciplines	Support Work
Settings	NGO (Non Government Organisation), Residential, Community
Diagnostic Categories	General
Populations	General Population
Other Keywords
Ethics approval	Yes
Academic led	Yes
Service led	No
How were service users involved	No involvement
Publication in peer review journal	Yes
Supporting information
Uploaded files
Links	Organisational views of the Mental Health Support Worker role and function http://www.psychosocial.com/IJPR_14/Organizational_Views_Pace.html

Page last updated: 7 November 2008