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Inside Out - Mental Health over 140 years

2002 28m Television
  • Documentary
  • NZ History

This episode of the long-running series made by and for Kiwis with disabilities focusses on the evolution of mental health care in Aotearoa, specifically in Christchurch. Pākehā settlers 'didn't plan' for mental illness in their fledgling society, and soon the jails were full. Presenter Kate Hirst takes a tour of Sunnyside Hospital, built in 1863, a physical and philosophical embodiment of changing approaches to treating mental illness. She speaks with academic Warwick Brunton and  ex-hospital staff and patients about New Zealand's move to community-based care, and visits a residential facility run by Stepping Stone Trust.