Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey with peer support workers.
Most families feel desperate and impotent when battling an eating disorder, Eating Disorders Association of New Zealand chair Andrea Bonetto says.
Bonetto, who has experience of an eating disorder and supported her daughter through one, said the association primarily worked with whānau rather than individuals, but a clear message continued to come through.
“Outside of clinical care, people need peer support.
“When you’re in the middle of an eating disorder, it can feel impossible to imagine a way out. Seeing someone who has been there and recovered shows that there is.
“A sense of hope can be critical in keeping people engaged in treatment.”
Families were still struggling to access timely support, with many forced to “keep knocking and knocking on doors” before getting help, Bonetto said.
Peer support workers could also help people stay connected to services during difficult stages of recovery, when disengagement was common.
“Having someone who understands the journey first-hand can make it easier to keep turning up and continue with treatment.”
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey visited the Waikato Specialist Eating Disorders Service in Hamilton last week as the central Government rolled out peer support workers nationwide.
Peer support workers are people with experience of eating disorders who support others through recovery.
Doocey said Waikato and Wellington already had peer support staff in place, with the roles being implemented across all four regional eating disorder services.
Doocey said the investment was focused on helping people access support earlier, building specialist service capacity, and providing more help for families and carers.
As part of that work, community-based support for carers would also be delivered through Eating Disorders Carer Support and the Eating Disorders Association of New Zealand.
Doocey said more than $3.2 million over four years had been allocated specifically for peer support roles, funded through the mental health ringfence as part of the wider $4m annual boost.
He said the refreshed strategy represented a 20% increase in spending on eating disorder services, lifting total annual investment to more than $23m.
Doocey said peer workers employed in Waikato and Wellington had already completed foundation peer training and would receive specialist eating disorder training, alongside clinical oversight and support through a national peer network.
Family and carer support will include educational resources, volunteer training, updated online information, expanded support programmes, and newsletters that share current treatment approaches.
Asked why the Eating Disorders Strategy had not been refreshed for 16 years, Doocey said understanding of eating disorders had changed significantly over that time.
Waikato’s regional mental health and addictions lead, Vicki Aitken, said the next priority was expanding support for younger people, with recruitment underway for additional clinical and peer support staff focused on those aged 12 to 18.
She said services were seeing the strongest growth in teenagers and young adults, although demand was increasing across all age groups.
Aitken said the introduction of peer support workers reflected ongoing engagement with lived experience networks, while expanded support for families and carers would help those trying to support loved ones at home.
“Families want to do the right thing, but it can be hugely challenging. Strengthening carer and family support is a big step forward,” she said.
Demand for services had risen sharply in recent years, with contacts increasing from between 2200 and 2600 a year to about 4000.
Currently, the biggest issue in New Zealand was the lack of early support, Bonetto said.
“Early identification and early support would avoid so much physical and psychological pain for both the individual and the whānau, and would also end up saving millions in hospital costs of those who need to be admitted due to the lack of early support.”
There was a huge gap where people were clearly struggling but were told they weren’t sick enough for specialist help, yet they were far too complex for a regular GP to handle, Bonetto said.
“This creates a really scary waiting game where the illness just gets worse and more deeply rooted.”
By the time someone qualified for care, they often needed costly hospital stays that could have been prevented with earlier intervention and support for them and their whānau, Bonneto said.
“If we actually focused on catching eating disorders early and giving GPs better training to spot the signs, it would save so much heartache and a lot of money for the health system too.”
Early intervention was critical, Bonnetto said.
“While someone is under 18, families can step in and guide treatment. After that, it becomes much harder.
“We hear from parents of adult children who are struggling but can refuse help. Too often, families are left waiting until things reach a crisis point.”
Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. Before he joined the Hamilton-based team, he worked for the Weekend Sun and Sunlive. He previously worked as a journalist at Black Press Media in Canada and won a fellowship with the Vancouver Sun.