Referrals from
health professionals

We offer a personalised, integrated, mental health therapeutic day programme over a six-week period, Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 4:30pm.

Our service is for adults experiencing moderate levels of mental distress - depression, anxiety and related conditions. Before people start our programme they will be assessed, treated and prepared by our intake team. Following the programme we will offer ongoing peer support groups.

The heart of our programme is small group psychotherapy. Group therapy is underutilised in NZ, yet has a number of proven benefits. It allows people to receive and offer support and feedback, improves their ability to relate to and communicate with others, and enables them to look at relationship patterns, both inside and outside the group, and to practise new behaviours which they can continue in daily life.

Small group psychotherapy will be supplemented by individual psychotherapy and a range of other therapies and activities, including: movement, art, music, exercise, psychoeducation, skill-based groups, rongoā, massage and mirimiri.

The programme will operate as a therapeutic community, with strong containing and motivating elements, reinforced through daily opening and closing sessions, shared lunches, time in nature, exercise, and gardening.

The Centre will enable participants to meet short term goals, such as a reduction in levels of distress, and support participants to attain longer term goals by helping them: 

• Regain hope by finding meaning and purpose

• Reduce their risk of suicide

• Achieve symptom remission

• Improve their physical and mental functioning

• Build stronger connections with their whānau, culture and community

• Become more stable and functional in their home and work lives

• Develop a healthy sense of identity

• Acquire health supporting behaviours and attitudes

• Gain awareness and skills that will be protective against relapse

The programme is designed for tāngata whai ora experiencing a range of mental health difficulties including, but not limited to:

• Major depressive disorder

• Anxiety disorders (GAD, Social anxiety, OCD, PTSD)

• Mood disorder resulting from chronic disease, multiple comorbidities, chronic pain, challenging environmental factors

• Enduring mental ill health

Tāngata whai ora with other diagnosed problems may also benefit from the programme, and their suitability will be assessed on an individual basis. We are happy to take enquiries where a diagnosis is unclear or not included in the criteria above.

Please send your enquiries to enquiries@whakamātūtū.org.nz

Tāngata whai ora will need the ability to:

• Engage in individual and group therapy; and

• Participate in the therapeutic community and engage in Whakamātūtū’s activities and therapies.

The programme is not suited for those who are:

• Under 18 years of age

• Acutely mentally unwell and need a higher level of support

• Experiencing active psychosis or in active addiction 

• Have cognitive deficits or language difficulties that would limit their ability to participate in talk therapy

• Have significant recent forensic history 

• Are not available to attend daily Monday to Friday for six weeks

At the moment these are the funding options available:

Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC)

ACC will fund the full cost of the programme for those who have a covered mental injury diagnosis: 

• Sensitive Claims (Mental Injury Caused by Sexual Violence)

• Mental Injury caused by Physical Injury (MICPI)

• Work Related Mental Injury (WRMI)

• Treatment Injury Mental Injury (TIMI)

Private Insurance

We have received support from a number of private life insurance companies who will fund the full cost of the programme for claimants who meet the referral criteria. If your patient has a covered claim and is currently off work, please email us for further information on how to make a referral under this funding stream.

Self-funded referrals

We welcome referrals for those who can self-fund their treatment.

Download and complete the referral form and email it along with your patient notes to enquiries@whakamātūtū.org.nz We will review it and let you know the outcome within a week.