Physiotherapy

Promises: Mental Health in crisis

19 June 2017 2 Comments

Tracey Holden

In New Zealand, a total of 36,684 referrals were made for people needing mental health crisis assessment during the 2015-16 financial year. Nearly 13,000 referrals were made for people needing an overnight stay – some patients being referred multiple times.

Yet there are just 590 beds in acute mental health wards nationwide for people in crisis.

Recently I felt compelled to sign a petition on actionstation.org.nz calling for a National Inquiry into Mental Health Services. Up until then I had been like the silent majority of New Zealanders who have glossed over stories about how our mental health services are in crisis.

Solidarity comes when our stories align.

The Case of the Missing Body

18 July 2016 Leave a Comment

Sue Wootton

The language of the body is amazing… I couldn’t hear it but the physiotherapist could.” Jenny Powell

Like the ‘disembodied lady’ described by Oliver Sacks, poet and teacher Jenny Powell has lived her life without a sense of body. Confused and frustrated by her inability to feel connected to her joints and her movements, she started to investigate, piecing together a comprehensive picture of her condition. The result is a fascinating and informative book: The Case of the Missing Body (Dunedin: Otago University Press, 2016)