Mental Health Services
About
Our services are for people in the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago districts, who are needing short term mental health care that is warm, evidence based, and community led.
Our Mental Health Services aims to provide more options of support to people in our region who are in mental distress and give guidance to those friends and whānau who are supporting someone else through mental health challenges.
We are proud to offer the services of a multidisciplinary team full of warm, experienced and local professionals and support staff. We work closely alongside the current Te Whatu Ora Southern’s specialist 24/7 teams, GPs, HIPs and other mental health providers in the region.
These services are free of charge and available to those in the Whakatipu, Wānaka, Upper Clutha and Central Otago regions.
All our mental health services require a referral.
Support for Individuals
What we offer individuals in our service:
Support for adults experiencing a mental health crisis or in distress as well as extra help for those already working with the Te Whatu Ora Community Mental Health Team.
- We help to create an individualised wellbeing plan. Alternatively, we can review and update wellbeing plans that are already in place.
- Where suitable we can offer counselling from our in-house team of experienced, warm and friendly local counsellors.
- Assistance and advocacy to access further appropriate services and agencies.
- We can provide access to short term respite care when available – find out more about respite care in the Respite tab further down this page.
Support for Whānau
Supporting a loved one as they are navigating mental health distress can come with its own challenges. Carers and whānau often experience burn-out and caring fatigue which can then become a mental health challenge of their own.
What we offer those supporting someone through a mental health challenge or crisis:
- Assist whānau, family, friends and support people, to best support a loved one through a mental health crisis and assist them on to the path to management and recovery.
- Co-design a whānau support plan which recognises their loved one’s needs and goals.
- Connect whānau to other appropriate services/agencies as needed, for their own care and wellbeing.
Getting guidance and support for yourself as a carer does not mean you love them any less – it’s putting your oxygen mask on first so that you can continue to love and care for them on their journey.
Support Groups
We are proud to offer a range of support groups to empower our communities and support wellbeing across the region.
These support groups vary in topic, frequency and style.
Check our Community page for more information on our current support groups.
Respite Care
Individuals experiencing mental distress are able to access short term respite care through our service with 24/7 support from experienced staff in a safe environment.
Respite care in our respite house can be accessed via a referral or can be something we offer tāngata whaiora who we are already working alongside. If suitable, we offer up to 3 nights in a warm and friendly space with 24/7 staffing. This is not emergency accommodation, inpatient care or a detox facility.
This cannot be accessed without a referral.
Referrals
Adults aged 18+ who would like to access our mental health services can get a referral via Te Whatu Ora Southern’s specialist mental health team or through their GP/Medical practice.
These services are free of charge and available to anyone in the Whakatipu, Wānaka, Upper Clutha and Central Otago regions.
It is important to note that we do not offer any financial assistance or emergency accommodation. Our team cannot provide any diagnoses or prescriptions.
We do not accept self-referrals for this service.