This report focuses on Pacific peoples experiences of living with mental illness. The interviewees included five Samoans, two people from the Cook Islands, and one person of Tahitian descent from the Pitcairn Islands. Six of the eight interviewees were New Zealand born. Their ages ranged from mid 20s to 40s. Most had used mental health services for 10 years or more. Three of the interviewees live in Auckland, the rest in the Wellington region.
This paper starts with the interviewees’ views on what has helped their recovery. Then they talk about what has hindered their recovery. The paper ends with a summary of the similarities and differences in the interviewees’ experiences of recovery.