Home Based Treatment Nursing in Aotearoa New Zealand: Factors Influencing the Successful Delivery of Care

Abstract

Home Based Treatment in acute mental health care is a relatively new phenomenon in New Zealand, although has been utilised successfully overseas for many years. This paper considers factors that are integral elements of its successful implementation, specifically considering the relationship of nursing care to crisis intervention methodology. It will describe how Home Based Treatment fits with contemporary crisis services and how the adherence to crisis intervention models can enable nurses to create a clearly defined recovery perspective in their practice. Service users in New Zealand and overseas have openly voiced their concerns around the discrepancies between how services have traditionally been delivered and how they wish services to be. As an alternative to inpatient care, Home Based Treatment is an option that promotes recovery and self determination. It is also an arena in which nurses can deconstruct the traditional power relationships between themselves and clients to create a new and invigorating way of practicing.