Young peoples stories

Attitude Pictures have put together this short video starring three inspiring young people who have lived experience of psychosis.
They are talking about their journey and what has helped them in their recovery and were very courageous in doing so.
Great to see the narratives of our young people getting out to the mainstream to demystify and normalise the experiences of psychosis in young people.
Also featuring Senior Clinical Psychologist Simon Judkins from Auckland.

This was aired on TV1 on Sunday 21st September 2016.
The following link will take you through to the Attitude Live website.

Supporting someone with psychosis

Information for family friends and whanau:

Supporting someone who is experiencing psychosis is a really important responsibility and it can be difficult at times.

Barriers to communication:

Sometimes there can be particular barriers to communication, such as a person’s thinking being muddled, difficulties with attention and concentration, a tendency to isolate, high levels of distress, and sometimes they may distracted by their experiences.

It is not possible to get it right every time, but the following ideas might help with communication: 

• Respect their privacy
• Keep your conversations brief
• Give one message at a time and don’t offer too many choices
• You may need to help them stay engaged
• Check that they have understood what you’ve said, and vice versa,
• Try not to dismiss, rubbish or ridicule them, even if what they are saying doesn’t make sense to you. Some of their ideas and experiences may sound unusual but may seem very real to them
• Take a moment to listen respectfully to what they’re saying
• Avoid arguing or getting into a debate unless safety is an issue

Supporting recovery:

 People who are recovering from psychosis can be very vulnerable to stress initially. To help reduce stress levels and assist recovery:

• Reduce exposure to conflict (either with them directly or from other relationships).
• Maintain structure and routine, familiarity and predictability
• Reduce expectations (work, jobs etc)
• Encourage participation in familiar activities
• Aim for small achievable goals
• Gradually increase activities as they feel able

Try to provide a structured and predictable environment – the recovering person may have problems with sensory overload. To reduce stress, keep routines simple, and allow the person time alone each day.  Plan non-stressful, low-key regular daily activities, and keep ‘big events’ to a minimum.

Be supportive and positive. People who have experienced psychosis need frequent encouragement, particularly since self esteem is often fragile.  Encourage all positive efforts; express appreciation for a job even half-done because the person’s confidence, initiative, patience and memory may have been undermined.

Help the person set realistic goals.  The person may want to try new things, but should work up to them gradually and not take on too much at a time.  The point is to avoid excessive stress, so goals should be reasonable, and nagging should be avoided.

Gradually increase independence.  It is important for young people to continue with social activities, education and employment if possible. If college or work are not possible, try to keep up social and recreation activities and help the person plan to use their time constructively.

Anticipate the ups and downs of life and try to prepare accordingly. Sometimes just recognizing in advance something that might be stressful and talking about it can help.

Your positive role-modelling can help someone with psychosis remember to manage stress in an acceptable manner.

Stigma and discrimination:

There is a lot of misinformation and misconceptions about psychosis

 The best thing you can do is try to educate those around you about psychosis and about early intervention services.

Click on logo below or additional information

Confidentiality:

Like many other health conditions, people who are experiencing psychosis often want this news to be kept private. It is a good idea, therefore, to check with them about who it is OK to share information with.

Similarly, young people sometimes tell our staff things they do not want passed on to their family or friends. While we aim to share all appropriate information openly with close family members, we must respect any request for confidentiality and consider it carefully.

Building trust is a vital part of our work with young people and maintaining confidentiality is central to this. However, if we receive information that leads us to believe there is a serious risk the young person may harm themselves or someone else, we have a duty to pass this on in order to protect everyone involved.

Useful links for friends and family - click on Logos to access service websites:

2018 Conferance feed back

 Conference feedback

Thanks to all those who attended and presented at the last NZEIPS national training forum in Christchurch last November. We had a great turn-out, with over 120 attendees and speakers from many different parts of the country, and even from overseas. The conference was a great couple of days to connect with other people across NZ with an interest in Early Intervention, and to get updated on some of the latest evidence-based practices including working with BPD and psychosis, suicide prevention, cognition and functional recovery, and psychological understandings of psychosis. We also had streams focusing on promoting physical health, working with families, and cultural approaches to Early Intervention. In addition, we had a number of great presentations promoting the value of peer support initiatives and creative approaches. Those of you who came would have also had the pleasure of attending the "Resilience, Rebuilding and Growth" art exhibition in conjunction with Ōtautahi Creative Spaces, and featuring some incredible art work from some young people who have experienced psychosis.

We are already in the early stages of planning the next training forum, which will be held in the Auckland area in 2019. Updates will be given on the NZEIPS website and through the Loomio forum in due course.

For more information click here for the mail-out which contains some information about previous and upcoming activities by the NZEIPS, including:

 1. Feedback on the last Early Intervention in Psychosis training forum, held in Christchurch in November 2017

 2. Information about the Talking Minds psychosis information website. click here

 3. Link to the Loomio Forum to stay connected with members of the NZEIPS and others interested in Early Intervention in Psychosis

 4. Call for nominations to join the Executive Committee of the NZEIPS click here

 5. Notice for the NZEIPS AGM (Annual General Meeting)

Executive members

Membership of NZEIPS Executive from November 2015:

TOTAL OF 8 VOTED MEMBER POSITIONS

   Voted members 2015 (retire at AGM 2017):                                       
1 - Lindsay Twiss               Auckand             Psychiatrist  
2 - Eleanor Baggott          Christchurch       Psychologist

3 - Simon Judkins              Auckland           Psychologist  Chair
4 - Holly Wilkins                Wellington         Psychologist 

  Voted members 2016 (retire at June 2018 AGM):        
5 - Brent Cooper               Palmerston North Manager/Social Worker Secretary   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   
6 - Ray McEnhill                Wellington          Manager/Nurse            Treasurer 
7 - Alastair Cameron          Dunedin            Aspiring Hse,   
8 - Amanda Luckman       Wellington           Consumer Representative   
          
  Coopted members  (up to 4 coopted member positions. Retire/renew role at each AGM):         
1 - Saskia van Stockum    Wellington           Researcher  
2 - Frank Bristol                Whanganui        Consumer Representative  
3 - Claire Paterson            Auckland           Psychiatrist         

4 - Kaye Tolra                  Northland           Occupational Therapist

 Past Chair:        
1 - Ian Soosay                    Auckland            Psychiatrist                    Past-Chair 

         
 Observers: (up to 2 observer member positions. Retire/renew role at each AGM. Key focus is on specified defined role or as arranged).          
1 - Karyn Black               Affinity services    Consumer Leader  
2 - vacant
 

Strategic partnerships:

1 - Te Pou

2 - Ian Soosay               Auckland                 Psychiatrist/Lecturer         Past-Chair

3 - Frank Bristol             Balance/Wanganui   Consumer Representative