AFS chief executive Kelly Feng, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and To Ora Deputy chief executive Mabel Jones. Photo: RNZ / Bill Hickman
Those behind a new mental health initiative directed towards Wellington's Asian community say language and cultural barriers are limiting people's access to mental health services.
Stigma, a lack of cultural awareness and the fear of an invasion of privacy caused many Asian people to wait until they reached a crisis point, before they asked for help, they said.
In Wellington, Asian people account for just over 15 percent of the region's population and the group is the fastest growing ethnicity across the country.
'Don't feel seen'
Head of Asian Family Services (AFS) Kelly Feng said a recent study showed almost half of the nearly 80,000 Asian people in Wellington reported symptoms of depression.
Speaking at the launch of the Wellington Asian Mental Health Service, Feng said, until now, no culturally informed mental health support existed for Asian people in the region.
"We often hear 'I don't feel seen. My language, my culture, my struggle, they don't fit'," Feng said.
In addition to language and cultural barriers in the health system, the stigma attached to mental health issues could be felt even more strongly in Asian communities, he said.
"Because we are from collective culture, that shame, stigma [is] also brought to the family, which sometimes is being a burden of your family, your community, how you're being judged. That's even harder for people to speak up [and say] 'I'm not okay, I need help'."
The pilot will last a year and provide up to six free counselling sessions, as well as practical skill support and referral advice to people over 18 years-old experiencing mild-to-moderate psychological distress.
The programme's clinicians could assist people speaking English, Mandarin, Hindi, Taiwanese, Hokkien and Kanaka languages.
Rapport and trust
AFS mental health co-ordinator Danyang Wang had worked with some of the 30 people who had already used the scheme in its first three months of operation.
Once people got in contact with a culturally skilled counsellor, they could build rapport and trust with that person more easily, she said.
Asian Family Services mental health co-ordinator Danyang Wang. Photo: RNZ / Bill Hickman
"If they describe a childhood trauma involving someone [who] died in rural China and they don't have to explain what the scenario looks like.
"If they need to explain all of this to another counsellor from another cultural background, they need to start from the very beginning to reach the point why that scenario is scary and became a traumatic experience."
Psychologist Sehar Moughal worked predominantly with South Asian families.
She said she supported the initiative, but she was not sure the scope of the service was enough to properly address complex mental health concerns.
"I think 3-6 sessions would not be enough," Moughal said. "They may be coming in for 'I think I'm not doing well at university', but I've had those clients and, when we unpack, there's just been so much happening.
"It ended up being months of therapy just to go through that."
'Faster access to support'
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey said he was excited to see the differences the pilot would make on mental health outcomes for the Asian community.
"The three key areas for our mental health plan is faster access to support - that's early intervention and prevention as well - growing the workforce and a better crisis response," he said.
"When you look at the service that's being launched today, that ticks the boxes in all three of those areas."
Doocey said, if the pilot proved to work, he would happily ensure sustainable funding to roll out beyond the Wellington region.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
