Recovery in New Zealand: An evolving concept?

Abstract

Recovery was first officially promoted in New Zealand in 1998 and it became a key concept in mental health service development. Since the mid 2000s however, recovery has been on the wane in New Zealand, but the fundamental concepts within the term live on in two more recently adopted terms: whanau ora and well-being.

He Korowai Oranga (Maori Health Strategy) defines whanau ora as families being supported to achieve health and well-being. The extended family is recognized as a source of strength, identity, security and support. Whanau ora is underpinned by Te Whare Tapa Wha, a well-being model that focuses on health being a balance between Taha Wairua (spiritual health), Taha Tinana (physical health), Taha Hinengaro (psychological health) and Taha Whānau (family health).

New Zealanders are also using the term well-being, not just for the whole population but for people diagnosed with mental illness. The advantages of placing recovery into the larger well-being agenda are reduced discrimination and segregation of people with a diagnosis into a distinct population group, reduced association with medical and deficits approaches that can counter the recovery approach, and bypassing the dilution of the recovery approach that has occurred in traditional services.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.