Lecture 3 Required Reading

Vocabulary flashcards summarising key terms and concepts from the lecture on mental distress, services, and activism in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Mental distress

A broad range of experiences from mild, short-term struggles to severe, enduring conditions that affect thoughts, feelings and behaviour.

Mental illness

Medically diagnosable condition (e.g., major depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis) often requiring clinical intervention.

Wellbeing

Holistic state of mental, physical, social and spiritual health; more than the absence of illness.

Recovery model

Policy and practice framework that emphasises hope, self-determination and living a meaningful life with or without ongoing symptoms.

Biopsychosocial model

Explanation of mental illness through interacting biological, psychological and social factors.

Vulnerability–stress model

Theory that cumulative stressors trigger illness in people with underlying predispositions.

Epigenetics

Study of environmentally induced genetic changes that may influence mental health across generations.

Critical psychiatry

Movement questioning biomedical dominance and advocating social, cultural and personal perspectives.

Antipsychiatry movement

1960s-origin critique that views psychiatry as oppressive and calls for radical reform or abolition.

DSM-5

Fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, often called psychiatry’s ‘Bible’.

ICD

WHO’s International Classification of Diseases; global diagnostic coding system (soon ICD-11).

Big Pharma

Large pharmaceutical companies whose economic interests influence diagnosis and treatment trends.

Neoliberalism

Free-market ideology promoting privatisation, competition and reduced state services.

Managerialism

Business-style management of public services focusing on efficiency, metrics and accountability.

Purchaser–provider contracting

Neoliberal mechanism where government ‘buys’ services from competing external providers.

Deinstitutionalisation

Closure of large psychiatric hospitals and shift toward community-based care (1980s–1990s NZ).

Community care

Provision of mental health support within local settings rather than institutions.

District Health Board (DHB)

Regional body that funds and delivers public health services in New Zealand.

Primary Health Organisation (PHO)

Group of general practices funded to provide primary health care, including some mental health support.

Non-Government Organisation (NGO)

Independent, often not-for-profit service provider contracted to deliver mental health or addiction care.

Kaupapa Māori services

‘For Māori, by Māori’ health services grounded in Māori values and world-views.

Tangata whaiora

Māori term for people seeking wellness; often used for Māori with lived experience of mental distress.

Service user / Survivor movement

Collective advocacy by people with lived experience demanding voice, rights and control in services.

Peer support worker

Paid or volunteer staff member who uses personal lived experience to assist others in recovery.

Intentional Peer Support

Structured model of mutual, relational support between people with lived experience.

Hearing Voices Network

International peer movement reframing voice-hearing as meaningful experience rather than pathology.

Mad movement

Global activism reclaiming ‘madness’ as identity and challenging oppressive psychiatric practices.

Stigma

Social disapproval and discrimination directed at people experiencing mental distress or illness.

Resilience

Capacity to adapt and recover in the face of adversity; often promoted in recovery discourse.

Outsight

Awareness of personal experiences within wider social and political contexts, enabling collective action.

Support worker workforce

Largely non-clinical staff providing day-to-day assistance; makes up over half of NZ mental health staff.

He Ara Oranga

2018 Government Inquiry report highlighting crisis and recommending overhaul of NZ mental health system.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission (MHWC)

Independent body established to monitor, advocate and advise on mental health and addiction in NZ.

Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand (MHFNZ)

Key NGO promoting mental health, anti-stigma campaigns and consumer resources since 1977.

People’s Mental Health Report (PMHR)

2017 crowd-sourced report of service user stories that influenced NZ mental health policy reform.

ActionStation

Digital campaigning organisation that facilitated the PMHR and other social justice petitions.

Social investment

Policy framing social spending as long-term ‘investment’ requiring measurable returns.

Social bonds

Funding model where private investors finance social programmes and are repaid if targets met.

Mental health literacy

Knowledge and beliefs that aid recognition, management and prevention of mental disorders.

Trauma-informed care

Service approach acknowledging and addressing the impact of past trauma on mental health.

Poverty as a determinant

Recognition that low income increases exposure to risk factors and mental distress.

Inequality hypothesis

Wilkinson & Pickett’s theory linking wide income gaps to higher anxiety and depression rates.

Colonisation and mental health

Understanding that historical and ongoing colonial oppression contributes to indigenous distress.

DSM medicalisation criticism

Argument that expanding diagnostic categories pathologises normal reactions and benefits industry.

Recovery narrative

Personal story of moving through mental distress towards a satisfying life, used for advocacy and training.

Online activism

Use of digital platforms to mobilise support, share stories and pressure for mental health reform.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Quantitative targets used to measure service efficiency, sometimes at odds with holistic care.

Support worker professionalisation

Trend of formalising peer/support roles while often maintaining low pay and minimal training.

Individual Placement and Support (IPS)

Evidence-based employment programme integrating vocational help with mental health treatment.

Wellbeing budget

NZ Government fiscal plan prioritising mental health and social outcomes alongside economic growth.