Each of the people we support (tāngata whaiora) is assigned a Wellness Recovery Coach (Hauora Kaiako) who collaborates with them to create a tailored wellness plan, addressing their spiritual, mental, social, and physical needs. This goal planning process empowers tāngata whaiora to take ownership of their wellness journey.

LINC acknowledges that there are many external factors and experiences which will impact a person’s wellness, and that wellness isn’t always a one directional staged journey. To foster independence, our tāngata whaiora own and are in charge of their own wellness plan, with the support and facilitation of their coach. The level of support provided can vary from as little as one hour a week to more than 10 hours, depending on the individual’s needs. Keeping the people we support (tāngata whaiora) at the heart of what we do, ensuring that they experience respect (manaakitanga), engage in shared decision-making through the principle of self-determination (Tino Rangatiratanga), and receive support to achieve goals.

Goal-focussed, the wellness plan promotes self-sufficiency and, where necessary, incorporates essential life skills training, including:

• Grocery shopping

• Menu planning

• Cooking

• Rostered housework

• Laundry

• Managing a budget

• Sports and exercise

• Maintaining personal hygiene

• Dealing with stress

• Managing medications

• Finding paid or voluntary work

LINC acknowledges Mental Health as a Taonga, a treasure. Without good mental and physical health, our enjoyment of life is compromised. We recognise that embracing holistic health models is fundamental to mental health and wellbeing. As such our treatment model is based on Whare Tapa Wha, or the four cornerstones of good health:

• Te taha Whānau (the family/social aspect)

• Te taha Wairua (the spiritual aspect of health)

• Te taha Hinengaro (the mental and emotional aspect)

• Te taha Tinana (the physical aspect)

At LINC our workforce is representative of the Bay of Plenty demographic and 50% of our kaimahi identifies as Māori. LINC has identified in their strategic plan the need to develop a Māori strategy and action plan that embraces, supports, and embeds Te Ao Māori in its organisation. The Tuia Mai Māori strategy and framework was developed for this reason and aims to demonstrate how LINC is striving to weave Te Ao Māori into the way we do our work (mahi).

We acknowledge that to embed a Māori world view into our mahi we will need to do things differently with Māori.

LINC recognises the Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an equity lens are applied to our support and approaches.

This group focuses on different Māori healing modalities for self and whānau. Te Huarahi ki te Oranga group is a 2 hour, 9 week group programme for the people we support (tāngata whaiora). LINC offers this group once a term to our tāngata whaiora and their whānau.

Physical activity and nutrition are an important part of mental health and wellbeing. LINC has a small onsite gym and amongst our other support we also offer physical activity and nutrition support to our tāngata whaiora. One of our Wellness and Recovery Coaches (Hauora Kaiako) is also the personal trainer on the team, and she has supported a number of the people we support (tāngata whaiora) to become more active and eat healthier. She has worked with each tāngata whaiora to develop an individualised nutrition plan, training programs, and shared healthy recipes that are easy and affordable to make.

LINC’s Supported Living Service provides intensive support to address an individual’s barrier to obtaining and maintaining housing while developing a solid foundation from which to enter into independent living. Referrals to this service is via Hauora ā Toi Bay of Plenty Needs Assessment and Service Coordination team.

Family (whānau) provide a natural support structure, however, change within a family (whānau) can be unsettling, even when that change is for the better.

LINC provides education and support to the family (whānau) of the people we support, guiding them on how they can best support their loved ones.

Our Wellness Recovery Coaches (Hauora Kaiako) work with family (whānau) to help facilitate meaningful change.

Dr Patte Randal is the master brain behind the "Gift Box". The "Gift Box" has been developed collaboratively with colleagues, friends and many of the people she has served and contains resources that can assist practitioners, people with lived experience of psychosis and their loved ones, to collaboratively formulate and understand the journey of "re-covery" in ways that enhance victorious cycles.

The “Gift Box” is a collaborative, person-centred approach to reaching wellbeing that offers an alternative, hope-filled, healing approach to psychosis.  This tool offers participants strategies to build trust, follows a solution-focussed change approach, and assist participants to identify actions, thoughts, feelings and body sensations collaboratively to create a pathway to wellbeing. 

The "Gift Box" contains a simple and effective conceptual framework and toolkit that helps develop understanding of complex interactions between cultural, spiritual, social, psychological and biological responses that result in psychosis.