About
How it all started
The seed for this work began in 2020 when Matt Jenkins (University of Otago | Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka) and Victoria Chinn (Victoria University | Te Herenga Waka) were introduced by a mutual colleague.
After completing their respective PhDs in behaviour change and health promotion, they both moved into the area of mental health.
One coffee later, they realised a common interest: Supporting people living with mental illness to lead healthy lives.
From there, the core project, ‘Te Hekenga Whaiora | The Journey to Wellbeing’ began and has been growing organically since.
Our kaupapa
Te Hekenga Whaiora | The Journey to Wellbeing is the overarching research project that centres all of our activities to date.
Our approach is grounded in co-creation and recognises rangatahi whaiora as leaders in their own wellbeing journeys. Instead of positioning researchers as the experts, we work alongside rangatahi, valuing lived experience and exploring holistic, practical supports together.
A visual guide
This co-produced illustration shows the principles that guide our work, what we have discovered, and the directions we’re continuing to explore. We invite you to use it as a visual guide while learning about the project.
What our name represents
Moving With Psychosis
We understand that recovery from psychosis looks different for everyone.
When it came to naming this website, we wanted to reflect this reality. An initial concept was ‘Moving Through Psychosis’. However, we soon realised that wellbeing is less about ‘overcoming’, ‘being stuck’ or ‘slowing down’ and more about learning to move alongside.
For many, wellbeing means discovering how to navigate daily life together with their experiences and learning to move with psychosis. And so, here we landed: ‘Moving With Psychosis’.
Te Hekenga whaiora
Similarly, the core project ‘Te Hekenga Whaiora’ means ‘Journey to Wellbeing which reflects this idea that living well isn’t determined by the presence or absence of mental illness, and recognising this experience as a journey.
The name was gifted to us by Briony Drysdale