School of Health Sciences Senior Tutor Farzanah Desai (left) accepting the award on behalf of the team.
The annual awards recognise, celebrate and promote innovation and excellence in public health teaching across Australasia. CAPHIA award the very best and brightest educators and seek to inspire generations to come and uplift the quality of public health education.
This year, the Mental Health and Addiction teaching team from the School of Health Sciences were awarded the Team Teaching Excellence Award. The team is led by co-directors Associate Professor Christina Severinsen and Associate Professor Andy Towers, accompanied by Hoani Moriarty, Philip Brookes, Luke Rowe and Andrea Meni.
The team was recognised for the development of the new mental health and addiction training programme that was co-created with Māori. This programme advances health equity and integrates public health and health promotion practice, the social determinants of health, Māori and Pacific approaches, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi-led practice.
Dr Towers says, “Our team worked hard with sector and community stakeholders to make sure we deliver the clinical skills and te ao Māori knowledge required of mental health and addiction practitioners in Aotearoa. Achieving this online and witnessing remarkable student outcomes is a testament to the immense value of the Māori engagement framework that we’re using.”
Mental Health and Addiction teaching team co-directors Associate Professor Christina Severinsen and Associate Professor Andy Towers.
Introduced in 2020, the Mental Health and Addiction major produced its first cohort of students this year, and has already received glowing feedback from the mental health and addiction sector.
Ehlana Grigg, one of the programme's first graduates, says, “I have had several comments from my placement and my current employer that Massey University seems to have prepared their students for the industry well.”
The programme recently gained accreditation from the Drug and Alcohol Practitioners Association of Aotearoa New Zealand. This accreditation means graduates are eligible to apply for provisional registration to work in the sector as addiction practitioners.
Head of the School of Health Sciences Associate Professor Rachel Page says, “The award is a well-deserved recognition of the team’s teaching excellence, as well as the development of a major within the Bachelor of Health Science programme that has taken an indigenous approach which has led to some excellent outcomes for students and staff.”
The award was announced at a dinner event held on 21 September at the University of South Australia in Adelaide. School of Health Sciences Senior Tutor Farzanah Desai accepted the award on behalf of the team.
Interested in learning more about the mental health and addiction major?
Related news
Supporting others on their mental health journeys
Studying a mental health and addiction major led Ehlana Grigg to a role that sees her helping to break the cycle of offending driven by alcohol and/or drug use.
Work placement key to confidence for budding mental health worker
A work placement has given third year Bachelor of Health Science student Ehlana Grigg the chance to ease into the working world of mental health before she graduates.
New mental health and addiction qualifications for 2020
As New Zealand grapples with alarming rates of suicide and addiction, a new offering from the College of Health aims to future-proof the education and professional development of those working on the frontline.
