A Canterbury academic recalls her sense of disempowerment as a teenager receiving care through New Zealand’s mental health system. This experience drives Associate Professor Annabel Ahuriri-Driscoll, now a public health researcher at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC), to explore how former patients can enhance mental healthcare.
Associate Professor Dr. Ahuriri-Driscoll and Senior Lecturer Dr. Kaaren Mathias from UC’s Health faculty are investigating how individuals with direct experience in mental health services can contribute to making the system kinder and more accessible. Their research, supported by a $109,994 grant from the Canterbury Medical Research Foundation (CMRF) in 2022, is nearing completion.
Dr. Ahuriri-Driscoll emphasizes the significance of their work amid Aotearoa’s “significant mental health crisis.” She explains, “This work explores whether our services are responding to the needs and voices of patients and consumers. It’s part of a broader movement toward co-design, focusing on what works for the service users and incorporating their insights into service design and delivery.”
With a strong interest in Māori mental health, Dr. Ahuriri-Driscoll draws on her own experiences as a mental healthcare inpatient to highlight the “absolute powerlessness” patients often feel. “Mental health is an unseen aspect of our wellbeing that has been stigmatized for many years. Our research indicates that this issue persists and needs to be addressed,” she says.
Dr. Mathias notes that involving people with lived experiences in the design and delivery of mental health services is a growing practice globally. “It’s increasingly recognized as crucial for ensuring mental healthcare is relevant and acceptable. However, there has been limited research on how this actually works.”
The UC research team conducted interviews with 29 individuals on the West Coast and in Canterbury, including 18 with lived experience of mental health services and eight working in mental healthcare. Other interviewees included service users and mental health program managers.
“We found excellent examples of co-design improving care quality and accessibility,” Dr. Mathias says. “We hope our findings will guide others in increasing participation of tāngata whai ora [people who have experienced mental distress or are seeking health] and local communities, enhancing the quality and relevance of mental healthcare for all.”
Dr. Ahuriri-Driscoll underscores the importance of exploring non-clinician approaches amid health workforce shortages, highlighting the strengths within communities. “Many kaupapa Māori providers are already engaging with people who have lived experiences of mental health services, utilizing their expertise for peer support roles. This approach, based on building meaningful relationships with whānau and community, is a real strength that other providers are increasingly interested in.”
She concludes, “Services need to accommodate and respond to the whole person, including their ethnicity, culture, and beliefs. If they can’t do that, then it’s not going to work.”
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