Research Interest: Mental health

I’ve worked in a range of mental health settings in New Zealand and England. I started my career in the addiction field, then worked in acute mental health in-patient units; community mental health services, and regional hospitals, and developed a new Perinatal Mental Health Service. I am also a therapist having completed a Graduate Diploma in Counselling. I developed the content (with Andy Williamson) for the New Zealand Mental Health Foundation’s Postnatal Depression brochure. I am also advisor to Perinatal Mental Health NZ.

I have been actively involved in the development of the New Zealand mental health workforce through leading and developing all seven of the courses making up the National Certificate in Mental Health Support Work (Treaty of Waitangi, Relationships, Communication/Code of rights, Demonstrating knowledge and theory, Challenging incidents/Legal implications, Community and lifestyle planning, Concepts of health, Integrating knowledge) and co-ordinating the Graduate Certificates in Forensic Mental health; Child and Adolescent Mental health and Dual Diagnosis. I am a former Auckland branch Chair of the College of Mental Health Nurses and was seconded to the New Zealand Committee. I was also the Co-ordinator of the Master of Health Practice in Nursing (Mental Health) at AUT University.

I am a former coordinator of the Auckland Central Mental Health Forum and served as a Board Member and Deputy Chair of the West Auckland Living Skills Homes Trust Inc (WALSH Trust) who offer support services that promote recovery for people whose lives have been affected by an experience of mental ill health. More recently I’ve had strategic roles in mental health including the NZ Mental Health Literacy Programme Reference Group and National service specifications for specialist mental health and addictions- Asian and Refugee Services. I have contributed to the workforce and strategic planning through my roles on the Waitemata DHB mental health strategic workforce development plan steering committee; Waitemata DHB District Mental Health Addictions Plan – Asian Chapter Development and Counties Manukau DHB Mental Health and Addiction Network Committee. I co-ordinated NUR2207 – Mental Health Clinical Practice in Semester 2 of 2014 at Monash University, School of Nursing and Midwifery Berwick.