Mental health — Waikato
Mental health services are delivered by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Waikato throughout the region as well as at Waikato Hospital.
Mental health services at Waikato Hospital
Where to find us
The mental health and addictions department at Waikato Hospital is at:
Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre
Waikato Hospital
11 Selwyn Street
Hamilton 3204
Waikato Hospital map
Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre visiting hours
Puna Poipoi (Ward 31)
Monday to Friday, 3:30pm to 4pm and 6pm to 8pm.
Flexible on weekends and public holidays.
Puna Awhi-rua (Ward 32) and Puna Maatai (Ward 33)
Monday to Friday, 3:30pm to 4pm and 6pm to 8pm.
Visits outside of these times can be arranged with the nurse in charge.
Puna Taunaki and Puna Whiti
Visiting times are flexible.
Services we provide
Mental health and addictions services we provide throughout Waikato — from Hamilton to Coromandel to Taumaranui.
The assertive community treatment team provides a community-based mental health service for people in Waikato who experience mental illness and have related high and complex needs.
Contact us
To contact the assertive community treatment service:
- phone: 07 834 6902
Hours: 8am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday
Services we provide
The assertive community treatment team is comprised of registered health professionals, who provide an assertive and intensive level of community mental health care and treatment to support people to live successfully in the community.
The team includes:
- occupational therapists
- social workers
- nurses
- psychologists
- medical.
Assertive community treatment is an intensive and highly integrated approach for community mental health service delivery. It is not a case management program, but rather an intervention.
The primary goal of assertive community treatment is recovery through community treatment in the below domains.
Improve function:
- increase in self care
- activities of daily living
- safety
- relationships and social interactions
- living skills
- occupations
- cognitive rehabilitation
- problem-solving.
Maintaining wellness:
- management of symptoms — both residual and active
- improvement of insight
- adherence to treatment
- education
- recovery planning
- whānau involvement
- support to access stable accommodation and available social benefits.
Risk management:
- risk assessment and management
- dynamic risk factors and their management
- multidisciplinary team input
- harm reduction
- improve problem solving.
The Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora community alcohol and drug service provides comprehensive alcohol and drug assessment and treatment for people in Waikato presenting with moderate to severe, complex substance abuse or dependency.
Contact us
Hamilton
To contact the community alcohol and drugs service in Hamilton:
- phone: 07 834 6902
- phone (freephone): 0800 302 359
Hours: 8am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday
Thames
To contact the community alcohol and drugs service in Thames:
- phone: 07 868 0041
- fax: 07 868 9206
After hours
To contact the mental health crisis assessment and treatment service:
- phone (freephone): 0800 50 50 50
Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Where to find us
The community alcohol and drugs service in Hamilton is at:
Te Kuuwaha o Te Wairora
Waikato University — Gate 101
35 Silverdale Road
Silverdale
Hamilton 3216
35 Silverdale Road, Silverdale — Google Maps (external link)
The community alcohol and drugs service in Thames is at:
Manaaki Centre
Thames Hospital
610 MacKay Street
Thames 3500
610 MacKay Street — Thames (external link)
Services we provide
We provide specialist services to the most severely affected people. Comprehensive alcohol and drug assessment and treatment planning form the basis of multi-disciplinary team treatment that includes:
- medical assessment and treatment
- individual case management and talking therapy
- educational and therapeutic groups
- hospital-based assessment and stabilisation in-patient beds
- home alcohol detoxification program
- consult liaison service to Waikato Hospital and Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre
- psychological therapy
- access to free hepatitis C screening and intervention as applicable
- links with community probation services offering brief alcohol and drug screening with referral onto the most appropriate
- service as applicable.
Alcohol and drug services are provided at:
- Hamilton
- Thames
- Te Awamutu.
Outreach clinics are also available in rural areas.
Opioid substitution treatment programme
We provide an opioid substitution treatment program. Eligibility is defined by the Opioid Substitution Treatment New Zealand practice guidelines 2014 entry criteria.
Opioid substitution treatment prescribing may include either methadone or buprenorphine naloxone treatment.
Once stabilised on treatment our shared cared service will provide support to your healthcare provider to continue your treatment.
Eligibility for the community alcohol and drug service
Adults aged 20 and older are eligible. Treatment may be provided to younger people in some circumstances.
People younger than 20 may be seen if no other provider exists in the area, but they must have issues associated with complex substance abuse or substance dependence
We provide specialist programmes for people with opioid dependency and co-existing mental health disorders.
A residential recovery service is a planned and time-limited residential support service aimed at promoting well-being and recovery. There are residential recovery service options across the Waikato region, including kaupapa Māori services.
Where to find us
The Ahikāroa community housing support service is provided by LinkPeople at:
LinkPeople
Kākāriki House
293 Grey Street
Hamilton 3216
293 Grey Street, Hamilton — Google Maps (external link)
Waikato — LinkPeople (external link)
Services we provide
The Ahikāroa service provides:
- an assessment of housing needs
- support to access, transition into and sustain independent housing options such as social housing or private rental options across Waikato.
- co-ordination of entry into residential recovery services and support to transition out into more independent housing options.
Residential recovery services provide different levels of staffing and support. For example, some have staff onsite during the day whereas others may have staff onsite 24 hours a day.
People living in residential recovery services set goals for their recovery and actively work towards achieving these goals.
These goals and support needs are reviewed in conjunction with the tangata whaiora and their key supports.
Ahikāroa provides support to transition into more independent housing or access different levels of residential support, if required.
Crisis assessment and home treatment is a community-based service providing crisis mental health assessment for people in Waikato who require an urgent response.
Contact us
To contact the crisis assessment and home treatment service:
- phone (freephone): 0800 50 50 50
- fax: 0800 500 105
Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Services we provide
This service is for people who are likely to require the support of community or inpatient mental health services.
Crisis assessment and home treatment also provides short-term follow-up for:
- new people who have been urgently assessed and require a period of specialist input or intervention
- existing people of community mental health teams who require acute home-based intervention as an alternative to hospital admission.
Dialectical behaviour therapy is a method of treatment designed for people with a confirmed diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora provides this service for people in Waikato.
Contact us
To contact the dialectical behaviour therapy department:
- phone: 07 834 6902
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8am to 4:30pm.
Services we provide
The programme normally takes 1 year to complete and involves:
- weekly individual therapy with a trained dialectical behaviour therapist
- a 2-hour skills training group once a week.
Both aspects of the programme are equally important.
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora provides regional forensic psychiatric services to the Midland | Te Manawa Taki health region, covering the courts, prisons, acute and community forensic services.
Contact us
To contact the Midland regional forensic psychiatric service (Puawai):
- phone: 07 859 9146
- after hours phone (freephone): 0800 50 50 50
- inpatient forensic service: 07 839 8899 (extension 96533)
- fax: 07 834 0267
Where to find us
The Midland regional forensic psychiatric service (Puawai) is at the Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre.
Services we provide
Services provided by Puawai, our regional forensic psychiatric service, include:
- secure inpatient service of 50 beds
- community forensic service that includes services to the prisons and courts in the region, as well as community mental health follow up to community-based forensic service users living in Hamilton.
The forensic service is based in Hamilton but operates an outreach service to the other areas, including court liaison nurses based in both Bay of Plenty and New Plymouth.
We work in collaboration with Hauora Waikato, who deliver a suite of forensic services including:
- court liaison
- youth forensic
- a 15-bed inpatient facility.
Referral information
Referrals to the service are from:
- the justice system (courts)
- corrections services (prison and community probation)
- mental health services.
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora's intellectual disability dual disorder service is a free, community-based specialist psychiatric outpatient service for people in the Waikato with a co-existing intellectual disability and mental health issues, who are aged 18 or older.
Contact us
To contact the intellectual disability dual disorder service:
phone: 07 859 9146
Where to find us
The intellectual disability dual disorder service is at:
40 Clarence Street
Hamilton 3204
40 Clarence Street, Hamilton — Google Maps (external link)
Services we provide
The intellectual disability dual disorder service aims to facilitate the optimal care of people with an intellectual disability, serious mental illness or suspected psychiatric disorder and an associated level of complexity which requires input from a specialist mental health service.
We are located in Hamilton and unable to actively work with people outside the city and immediate surrounds.
It may be possible for us to provide one-off consultations for other areas in Waikato if the person is able to travel to a Hamilton clinic.
Referral information
A referral for this service must come from a healthcare provider.
Manaaki Raatonga aa Iwi supports Waikato people to live well in their community by encouraging personal growth and developing skills in partnership with whānau and the wider community.
Contact us
To contact Manaaki Raatonga aa Iwi:
- phone: 07 843 0456
- email: recovery@waikatodhb.health.nz
Where to find us
Manaaki Raatonga aa Iwi has two sites:
107 Ohaupo Road
Melville
Hamilton 3206
107 Ohaupo Road, Melville — Google Maps (external link)
232 River Road
Claudelands
Hamilton 3214
232 River Road, Claudelands — Google Maps (external link)
Services we provide
Manaaki Raatonga aa Iwi supports people to live well in their community by encouraging personal growth and developing skills in partnership with whānau and the wider community.
Our staff include a mix of occupational therapists and support workers. We focus on individual recovery goals, which are supported by assessment. We also use community organisations such as Arts for Health and Agora cafe and event space.
We provide 1-to-1 sessions and opportunities based around the school term timetable, which enables us to regularly change what we offer.
Manaaki Raatonga aa Iwi is a recovery-focused rehabilitation service for people with high and complex mental health needs which:
- believes in your right to self-determination
- supports you to achieve your dreams and aspirations
- works in partnership with you, and your whānau to use your strengths
- helps you to build a bridge to a life worth living.
We work with people who are currently using either Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Waikato or Hauora Waikato mental health services.
The memory service is a non-acute specialist diagnostic, treatment and support service for people in Waikato experiencing complex and unexplained progressive changes in their cognition such as memory.
Contact us
To contact the memory service:
- phone: 07 839 8603
- fax: 07 8398 737
Where to find us
The memory service is at:
Level B1
Older Persons and Rehabilitation Building
Waikato Hospital
214 Pembroke Street
Hamilton 3204
Services we provide
Memory services we offer include:
- expert clinical diagnosis
- thorough and sensitive assessment
- information on appropriate treatment options
- post diagnosis education, support and future planning advice
- links for clients or their whānau to other service providers and community supports.
Our approach is flexible and tailored to suit the needs of people and their situation. We strive to be responsive to the needs of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, using interpreters where appropriate. Individuals who identify as Māori will be offered a referral to Te Puna Oranga for cultural support and assessment.
We are usually unable to accept referrals for non-complex presentations or where there is an already established diagnosis, such as dementia. In these cases we can offer comprehensive specialist advice on how you can be assessed and managed. Some referrals may be forwarded to other services if it is felt these services are better suited to meet your needs.
These could include:
- neurology
- older persons and rehabilitation service
- intellectual disability dual diagnosis service.
We welcome enquiries regarding potential referrals or service related questions. If you are interested the team is available to present on our service at your workplace.
Referral information
A referral for this service must come from a healthcare provider.
The Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Waikato perinatal mental health is a team of experienced, specialised health professionals skilled in helping mothers with mental health conditions related to having a baby.
Contact us
To contact perinatal mental health:
- phone: 07 839 8899 (extension 97914)
Where to find us
Perinatal mental health is at:
Waiora CBD
218B Anglesea Street
Hamilton 3204
218B Anglesea Street, Hamilton — Google Maps (external link)
Services we provide
We take a holistic approach, working with both expectant mums and those with infants in their first year of life, together with partners, whānau, and services and health providers involved in their care.
Our team offers assessment, treatment and advice for women who have developed a mental illness during the perinatal period or have an ongoing or previous mental health disorder.
Referral information
A referral for this service can come from a healthcare provider, whānau and friends or by self-referral.
This service is for Waikato people with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorders — not otherwise specified (ED-NOS with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa sub-types).
Contact us
To contact the specialist eating disorders service:
- phone: 07 834 6902
- fax: 07 834 6900
Where to find us
The specialist eating disorders service is at:
Adult mental health and addictions services
193 London Street
Hamilton 3204
193 London Street, Hamilton — Google Maps (external link)
Services we provide
Our team of specialist clinicians include:
- psychologists
- a psychiatrist
- mental health nurses
- a dietitian.
We offer a range of services including:
- assessment
- treatment (individual, group and whānau)
- consultation and shared care with community and inpatient teams (medical and psychiatric).
Services are for people of all ages throughout Waikato.
We also offer:
- consultation, training and supervision for Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Waikato staff
- community services working with clients with eating disorders.
The triage service provides a single point of entry for non-urgent referrals to adult mental health for people in Waikato.
Contact us
To contact triage:
- phone: 07 834 6902
- fax: 07 834 6900
- email: AMHAStriage@waikatodhb.govt.nz
Where to find us
Triage is at:
Adult mental health and addictions services
193 London Street
Hamilton 3204
193 London Street, Hamilton — Google Maps (external link)
Hours: 8am to 4:30pm, 7 days a week
Services we provide
The service undertakes initial screening and assessment (telephone or face-to-face) of referrals to:
- determine whether a comprehensive assessment is indicated within the community mental health service, or
- to provide appropriate advice or facilitate an assisted referral to another service provider, such as a community based non-government organisations (NGOs).
Referral information
A referral for this service can come from a healthcare provider or by self-referral.
Urgent referrals should be directed to crisis assessment and home treatment:
- phone (freephone): 0800 50 50 50
Contact us
To contact the suicide prevention and postvention service:
- phone: 07 839 8899 (extension 96153)
- text or phone: 027 353 1470
- email: suicideprevention@waikatodhb.health.nz
Where to find us
The suicide prevention and postvention service is at:
Waiora CBD
87 Alexandra Street
Hamilton 3204
87 Alexandra Street, Hamilton — Google Maps (external link)
Services we provide
Our position is that one suicide is one too many.
Suicide prevention is everybody's responsibility. Everyone can have a role in promoting wellbeing, minimising harm and assisting those in crisis.
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Waikato aims to reduce suicide and deliberate self-harm.
Strengthening mental health and wellbeing in Waikato will make a positive difference in people's lives.
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Waikato has an action plan which promotes collaboration between us, communities and other agencies. The actions will be done with:
- government
- non-government agencies
- community
- volunteer sectors.
Referral information
Many mental health and addiction services require a referral from a healthcare provider. Some accept self-referrals or referrals from whānau and friends.
Check the referral information for each service.