Ruth
DeSouza » How can Mental Health services support Migrants and
Refugees
How can Mental Health services
support Migrants and Refugees?
This half day forum was jointly organised by Waitakere Shared Vision for Mental Health Public Forum with the Centre for Asian and Migrant Health Research, AUT. It was held at Kelston Commumity Centre on April 29, 2005. It was attended by over 100 people representing government departments, NGOs, DHBs, community groups and consumers and family representatives.
The idea behind the forum was to showcase the range of services available to migrants and refugees to people involved in the mental health sector. The forum was designed to connect those working in mental health services with these organisations in order to build bridges and enhance collaboration across the sectors.
If you'd like to know more about Shared Vision, please contact Jacynth Joblin. For more information on AUT's Centre for Asian and Migrant Health Research, contact me at AUT or visit the AUT website. |
These pages might also be useful:
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Copies of presentations
are provided below as Adobe Acrobat documents (PDF), if you don't
have the Acrobat reader installed, you can download it from here...
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Sue Lim
Asian Health Support Service,
Waitemata District Health Board
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Ruth DeSouza
Centre for Asian and Migrant Health Research, AUT
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Jill Conway
Auckland Regional Co-ordinator RMS Refugee and Migrant Resettlement
Representing refugees who resettle in New Zealand through the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Topic of concern -
access to and availability of appropriate mental health support for
quota refugees in the community. 10 years in education management
at Unitec, 2 years as an Administrative Project Advisor, Ministry
of Education, Cambodia (VSA Volunteer) working as a mentor and coach
for ministry staff and developing and implementing appropriate training
workshops. Jill will talk a little about the refugee experience and
the role RMS plays in supporting quota refugees in their resettlement,
the challenges faced by them in the community and the gaps that she
sees in community mental health provision for refugees.
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Maria Hayward
Centre Manager, Centre for Refugee Education/Senior Lecturer, AUT
Maria Hayward leads the education team at the Centre for Refugee Education
located within the Mangere Refugee Reception complex in South Auckland..
She is responsible for liaison with on-site agencies, AUT, the Ministry
of Education, the Tertiary Education Commission, and for representing
the Centre externally. Maria has worked in the field of refugee education
in New Zealand, for over 15 years. Maria's current research interests
lie in the provision of refugee on-arrival education worldwide, refugee
resettlement issues, and refugee education.
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Mary Dawson
Executive Director, Auckland Regional Migrant Services Trust.
Mary's original profession has been clinical child psychology. After
gaining her doctorate degree from Nottingham University, she has worked
as a clinical researcher and as a clinician mainly with children and
their families. Most of her clinical experience has been in the child
abuse and neglect field, more recently as the clinical director of
the Auckland Specialist Services branch of Child Youth and Family
Services. In addition, Mary has had a longterm involvement as a cross-cultural
workshop designer and facilitator in youth work, special needs, and
children's rights, for youth leaders in India, Bangladesh, Australia
and New Zealand. She has lived and worked in India and has travelled
widely throughout Asia and Europe, and spent 5 weeks in 2004 in Uganda
working on various projects. In 2005 Mary's cross-cultural and community
interests resulted in her taking up the Executive Director position
for the Auckland Regional Migrant Services (ARMS).
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Kannan Subramaniam
General Manager, LactoPharma: Mental health needs related to
the recent Asian tsunami
Kannan
is a medical doctor with postgraduate training in psychiatry and
business administration. He worked as a clinician in Auckland before
heading up commercial ventures in Australia and Europe. In Australia,
he led a joint venture of global pharmaceutical companies including
Merck, Glaxo and Lilly, which sought to demonstrate the value of
research-based medicines in improving health outcomes. In Europe,
he headed up a technology company that provided information services
to the business community. Having
recently returned to New Zealand, Kannan is the general manager
of LactoPharma, a Fonterra company that seeks to provide opportunities
for the commercialisation of bioactive components from milk. He
is also the Chair of Health Informatics New Zealand, a not for profit
organisation facilitating the use of information technology in delivering
better health outcomes. Kannan
will share his experiences of visiting Sri Lanka in the aftermath
of the boxing day tsunami and their attempts to prevent the psychological
complications of severe trauma.
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Dr Nyunt
Naing Thein and Yolande Johnson
Refugees as Survivors
Naing is a medical doctor from Myanmar (Burma). He
had worked in Thailand and along Thailand-Burma border for eleven
years with refugees, displaced persons and migrant workers. He is
also trained as a social worker - counsellor in New Zealand. He has
strong commitment to work for successful integrative resettlement
for refugees through refugee empowerment approach.
Following her training as a Physiotherapist, Yolande explored the
bodymind relationship in healing through a range of holistic therapies
including Aromatherapy, Reiki, and Body Harmony. Incorporating these
into her private practice, led Yolande to specialize in stress management,
chronic pain and trauma. Having undertaken extensive training in BodySense
Therapy in Europe over 5 years, Yolande began facilitating BodySense
workshops and teaching practitioner trainings here in NZ, whilst developing
a body therapy programme for survivors of torture and trauma at the
Auckland Refugees As Survivors Centre. Yolande currently manages the
Body Therapy team, which offers groups, trainings and individual therapy
for refugees, and provides a holistic and effective approach to treating
somatic symptoms for a complex and highly traumatised client group.
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