The Difference: season two episode one
Whānau - the biggest providers of mental health support
Listen to season two episode one of The Difference featuring Jade Caulfield (Yellow Brick Road) and Anne McGregor (Atareira).
Where to listen:
Information on the topic
Whānau support is vital for hauora and wellbeing
Whānau play a vital role in supporting the recovery and wellbeing of tāngata whai ora experiencing mental health and addiction challenges.1 Many people, including children, are turning to whānau and friends to talk about their mental health and substance-use challenges.2 In Aotearoa New Zealand, whānau can include partners, friends, and others in a person’s wider support network.3
Whānau need support in their own right
More recently, there has been growing recognition that whānau can benefit from support in their own right.4 They may experience burnout, an increased burden of caring, anxiety, and trauma, alongside financial constraints, social isolation, and discrimination from wider community.5-6 However, seeking help for themselves is often not a priority for whānau.7
Supporting whānau wellbeing
Whānau may require support in several areas, depending upon their needs and where they are in their journey of supporting tāngata whai ora. Focusing on the health and wellbeing of whānau improves their physical and psychological wellbeing, reduces the burden of caring, strengthens coping styles, and increases social support.8-9
Ways to support whānau include:
- listening to their concerns
- providing access to relevant information
- helping them find motivation for change
- developing effective coping mechanisms
- exploring self-care strategies
- improving communication skills
- establishing and maintaining boundaries
- connecting with other whānau who have similar experiences. 5,9
Tips from The Difference podcast
Whānau support workers:
- are good listeners
- think outside the box
- are good advocates
- have a thorough knowledge of mental health and addiction and how the system works.
A big part of whānau support is helping people to see that their own wellbeing is important. Self-care is often about saying “no” to things, going to bed early, eating food that nourishes you, so you’ve got energy to get through the day, and setting boundaries.
When working with people from diverse backgrounds, it is important to:
- be respectful
- ask questions if you don’t know
- have an open mind
- listen.
Whānau often want to hear from other whānau who have gone through similar things. Isolation can be a massive issue.
Whānau workers often come from varied backgrounds – education, counselling, etc.
Each whānau is different, so each day at mahi is different.
Anyone who is close to someone experiencing distress is eligible to access whānau support, e.g. neighbours, managers, children in the family, friends and flatmates.
People supporting whānau members do better if they are well-educated on mental health and addiction and how to support their whānau members and themselves, can ask questions, and have somewhere to debrief. This can include age-appropriate education for children in the whānau.
Older parents supporting adult children often experience a lot of stress around who will support their child after they are gone.
Grief is the number one thing that whānau seek support for – including grief around the future whānau thought their child would have.
A small amount of input into a whānau can make a massive difference.
Whānau often don’t access support for themselves until things get really bad.
More information on this topic
- Keeping it Real | Kia Pono te Tika is a framework that describes the values, attitudes, knowledge, and skills required for working effectively alongside tāngata whai ora and whānau experiencing addiction and/or mental health challenges. Keeping it Real | Kia Pono te Tika resources for the Working with whānau Real Skill are available on Working with Whānau.
- Family services directory is an online database of organisations and services that provide family support to families in Aotearoa New Zealand. The directory can be accessed at Family services directory.
- Information, advice, learning, and support for carers across Aotearoa New Zealand can be accessed on the Carers NZ webpage.
- Yellow Brick Road is a national organisation that supports whānau who are supporting tāngata whai ora experiencing mental health challenges. Learn more about their services on the Yellow Brick Road webpage.
- Atareira provides community based mental health and addictions support to individuals, whānau, child and youth and transitional housing in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Learn more about their services on the Atareira webpage.
