MHAC Charter
To support and inform the work of the Mental Health Advocacy Coalition in fulfilling its contractual obligations, we will adopt the following 10 principles. (Updated 2008)
1 Working in Partnership
We support a perspective that recognises broader, social determinants of mental health. Accordingly we will work in partnership with Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Development and other relevant Government departments and we will support the development and maintenance of constructive working relationships with service users, carers, family/whanau, colleagues, lay people and wider community networks. We will encourage a positive approach to working with any tensions created by conflicts of interest or aspiration that may arise between the partners in care - recognising such tensions can be integral to a process of change.
2 Respecting Diversity
We will work in partnership with Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Development and other relevant Government departments, service users, carers, family/whanau and colleagues to support the development and provision of care and interventions that not only make a positive difference but also do so in ways that respect and value diversity including age, race, culture, disability, gender, spirituality and sexuality. We will respect and value the diversity of cultures that are present in New Zealand Aotearoa, primarily upholding the articles of the Te Tiriti O Waitangi.
3 Practising Ethically
We will recognise the rights and aspirations of Government officials, service providers, service users and their family/whanau, acknowledging power differentials and minimising them whenever possible. We support the provision of treatment and care that is accountable to service users and carers within the boundaries prescribed by national (professional), legal and local codes of ethical practice.
4 Challenging Inequality
We will seek to address the causes and consequences of stigma, discrimination, social inequality and exclusion of service users, carers and mental health services. We support the creation, development and maintenance of valued social roles for people who experience mental ill-health in the communities they come from.
5 Promoting Recovery
We will work in partnership to encourage the development and provision of support and treatment options that enable service users and carers to tackle mental ill-health with hope and optimism and to work towards a valued lifestyle within and beyond the limits of any mental illness.
6 Identifying People's Needs and Strengths
We will encourage the development of services that work in partnership to gather information to agree health and social support needs, in the context of the preferred lifestyle and aspirations of service users their family/whanau, carers and friends.
7 Providing Service User Centred Services
We will support the development of services that negotiate achievable and meaningful goals; primarily from the perspective of service users and their family/whanau. We will support the role of service users in leading, influencing and seeking the means to achieve these goals.
8 Making a Difference
We will support the development of services that facilitate access to and delivery of the best quality, evidence-based, values-based health and social support interventions to meet the needs and aspirations of service users and their family/whanau and carers. We support a "whole of population" perspective of mental health - recognising the integral elements of mental health promotion / prevention, through to primary, secondary and tertiary responses.
9 Promoting Safety and Positive Risk Taking
We will support the development of services that empower the person to decide the level of risk they are prepared to take with their health and safety. This includes working with the tension between promoting safety and positive risk taking, including assessing and dealing with possible risks for service users, carers, family/whanau, and the wider public.
10 Personal Development and Learning
We will ensure that collectively we will keep up-to-date with changes in policy, best practices and participate in life-long learning, personal and professional development.
