Social Work: The Mental Health Foundation Of New Zealand

Social work aims to empower and liberate people in the society, and they also help promote development. There is a wide range of social work services that are available in New Zealand today that gives people the liberation and empowerment they deserve. One of them is mental health services. This field of practice has met the aims mentioned above, however there are also some limitations to these and we will be discussing that in this essay. It is very important for social work services to meet these aims and to meet the needs of the people in the community.

Mental health, according to the World Health Organization (2004) is people’s state of mind and being, where everyone recognizes and knows their own abilities and potential, can work efficiently

This organization was established in 1977 and its vision is to have a society where everyone flourishes and grows as individuals (Mental Health Foundation, n.d.). The Mental Health Foundation takes a holistic approach on mental health, which means that they do not only look at the symptoms of the individual themselves, but they recognize the influencing factors and take all aspects of the person’s life into account (MHF, n.d.). This is very important, as without taking all these other factors in mind, it is impossible to fully understand mental health and the people suffering from

Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability worldwide, as about twenty-three percent of all years lost due to disability are caused by mental disorders (WHO, 2001). Mental disorders are very prevalent, and people who are disadvantaged are more susceptible. Developed countries, like New Zealand has mental health services and policies offered to the public, however, it is also important to focus on the countries that are disadvantaged and who do not have these services. This field is effective in some countries, but this also means that they are ineffective and even non-existent in many other countries. There are over forty percent of countries do not have mental health policies and over thirty percent with no mental health services and programs (WHO, 2001). This shows how countries with lower income get less, although they have higher rates of mental disorders. It was found that there are only nine workers per 100,000 populations globally, and even goes below one in lower income countries (WHO, 2014). This could be something that the mental health field could improve on. It is also important to understand that different cultures have different ideas of what mental health is, which can affect mental health services. How we understand