This week marked the 4th anniversary of the Christchurch and Canterbury earthquake. New research from the University of Otago in Christchurch with earthquake survivors is shedding some light on the question of what makes some people cope better with trauma than others. A group of psychiatrists and psychologists from the University have been studying a group of more than 100 Cantabrians exposed to high levels of stress during the earthquakes who coped well. They compared this group against a group of patients with post-earthquake trauma, being treated by the Adult Specialist Services Earthquake Treatment Team, or ASSETT, set up by the Canterbury DHB. Dr Gini McIntosh from the Otago University is part of the research team, and one of the psychologists with ASSETT.
Clinical psychologist Sarb Johal, formerly an adviser with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Civil Defence, on trauma and psychosocial support after Canterbury's earthquake.
The Government is flying more than thirty counsellors into Christchurch, to help people feeling the strain of the earthquake's aftermath.
Fran Vertue is a Clinical Psychologist with experience in truama counselling. She speaks about how to handle children dealing with the trauma of the Canterbury earthquake.
Today: a month on from the Canterbury earthquake, we take a comprehensive look at the recovery process from the Garden City; we get a glimpse at the Commonwealth Games and; trauma affects police involved in the recovery of Carmen Thomas' body.
In the hours after the February 2011 Canterbury earthquake, Chessie Henry's father Chris Henry, a Kaikoura-based doctor, crawled into makeshift tunnels in the collapsed CTV building to rescue the living and look for the dead. Six years later, Chessie interviewed Chris in an attempt to understand the trauma that lead her father to burnout. In her book just published, We Can Make A Life: A memoir of family, earthquakes and courage, Chessie Henry considers the psychological cost of heroism and unravels stories and memories from her family history.
Primary and intermediate teachers marching in Christchurch echoed the message of their colleagues further north - they also want pay increases and improved working conditions. But they say that their classrooms are even more complex as they continue to deal with the effects of the earthquakes - and the associated trauma.
A special trauma team has been brought into Christchurch to try to stop a panic exodus of refugees living in the city. Among the 70-thousand people who have fled Christchurch in the last week are refugees who are afraid that another big earthquake will hit. The team is also working with new immigrants, many of whom are victims of war and torture. Dr Arif Saeid is with the organisation Refugees As Survivors.
A mental wellbeing programme for primary and intermediate school students will be expanded to five more district health board areas.
Mana Ake started in 2018 in Canterbury and KaikÅura, and was a response to the ongoing trauma some tamariki were experiencing following the earthquakes.
Now more year 1 to 8 pupils will receive extra help if they're struggling.
Our reporter Kirsty Frame was at the announcement in Auckland.
There's growing frustration over the government's work to match it's promise to tackle the country's suicide rates. A Mental Health Commission report describes frustration over the pace of change - and points to an urgent need for an overarching action plan. Mental health advocates are also criticising the lack of progress in helping people in Canterbury, with many still severely affected by ongoing trauma from earthquakes and the 2019 Mosque shootings. Eleisha Foon reports.
UAVs or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or drones as they’re commonly known, are suddenly everywhere. Conservationists and academics are using them to map our rivers; engineers surveyed the interior of the earthquake damaged Christchurch Cathedral with one; and then, of course, there's the military drones used to such lethal affect in Pakistan and Yemen. Ideas visits Palmerston North's Skycam UAV – New Zealand's leading manufacture of UAVs; talks to the interim president of the Association of Unmanned Operations – a union of US drone pilots; and Professor James Cavallaro tells us about the findings of a report he co-authored: 'Living Under Drones: Death, Injury, and Trauma to Civilians from US Drone Practices in Pakistan'.
An experiment to see if the cast of a play can make friends with their audience in just an hour is the latest project by the country's only theatre company involving people who are - or have been - homeless. As part of the Auckland Fringe Festival, the Hobson Street Theatre Company is working with the Street Choir on That's What Friends Are For.: It's directed by Dr Peter O'Connor from the University of Auckland. He's worked with survivors of natural disasters like the Christchurch earthquakes to help people - especially children - work through the trauma. Lynn Freeman talks with Peter, and with one of the actors, Richard. That's What Friends Are For premieres on Tuesday at the Basement Theatre as part of the Auckland Fringe, before heading to the fringe festivals in Wellington and Dunedin.
