Gawith and Abrams (2006) wrote a great article tracing the journey of mental health services in NZ. Consumer advocacy and consumer-led services have their roots in the 1980s and a series of inquiries (eg Cartwright Report of 1988 and Mason Reports in the 1990s) brought to attention the dire state of patient rights and questioned the total authority traditionally associated with the medical profession. The Mental Health Commission was set up to do something about this and services have been, well, recovering from the past ever since. I would really recommend this article for anyone interested in a well-written overview of the evolution of services in NZ from the historical psychiatry-led biomedical focus to today's recovery and consumer rights focus. I found it really helped my understanding to step back and look at the bigger picture, politically, socially, all the events that propelled and impacted the development of services (including peer-led services) along the way.
Reference
Gawith, L. & Abrams, P. (2006). Long journey to recovery for Kiwi consumers: Recent developments in mental health policy and practice in New Zealand [Electronic version]. Australian Psychologist, 41(2), 140-48.
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