Work and psychiatric illness in Aotearoa/New Zealand: implications for career practice

This paper aims to examine the influence of Maori culture upon psychiatric service provision in Aotearoa/New Zealand and the implications of this for career counselling of people with experience of mental illness in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The research explored the experiences of a group of women in Aotearoa/New Zealand who have been diagnosed with a psychiatric illness, with the aim of gaining some understanding about how they negotiate issues around diagnosis, recovery and resilience development and employment. The women interviewed for the study ranged in age from 17 to late 60s. They displayed academic ability ranging from literacy issues to postdoctoral experience. Their psychiatric illnesses ranged from single episodes to chronic lifetime conditions and from depression to psychotic bi-polar disorder. Their occupations ranged from unemployed status to an acting CEO. All but one of the women identified as Pakeha/tauiwi. One woman had Maori heritage but had been adopted at birth by Pakeha adoptive parents and had no knowledge of her Maori whakapapa [genealogy; descent lines; ancestry] until later in her adult life. The key idea that emerged was the importance of mentors in vocational settings, and the helpfulness of Maori-focused group and family wellness models for renegotiating vocational identity when suffering from a psychiatric illness. Implications for career practitioners are discussed.