Integrated Primary Mental Health and Addiction (IMPHA) Services

  • Appointments with a Health Improvement Practitioner or Health Coach are available at some Primary Care Practices.
  • Appointments are 30 minutes long and there is no cost for our service.
  • Same day appointments are available on usual clinic days which may vary between Primary Care Practices.

Appointments are usually held at your Primary Care Practice however Health Improvement Practitioners and Health Coaches can contact you by phone call, video call, text or by arrangement they may visit you at your home or in the community.

Health Improvement Practitioners utilise a variety of talking therapies to support people to reconnect with their values and help them to commit to actions reflective of their health and wellbeing goals.  They teach a wide range of strategies that help people to manage and overcome stress and distress in their lives.

Some problems of health and wellbeing that a Health Improvement Practitioner can offer support with include but are not limited to:

  • Sleep
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Stress
  • Fatigue
  • Grief
  • Headaches
  • Pain
  • Socio-economic problems (domestic violence, bereavement, marital problems, etc)
  • Children with behavioural challenges
  • Problems with substance use.

Health Coaches help people to achieve their health and wellbeing goals.
They have a wealth of information about community services and organisations. They can help connect people to better navigate their health and wellbeing needs.

Consider visiting your health coach for help with:

  • Better understanding of new and existing health conditions
  • Developing collaborative action plans that support health and wellbeing goals
  • Support and empowerment to self-manage health and achieve health goals
  • Graded exposure to certain activities/environments
  • Advocacy while navigating external services e.g Work and Income, Kainga Ora etc.
  • Budgeting and money matters
  • Paid or voluntary work
  • Setting and agenda before a GP consult.

Primary Care Practices that provide the IPMHA service can be located at Home | Find wellbeing support | Te Whatu Ora – Health NZ.

Referral Information

You can be referred by your GP, NP, Nurse or self-refer by phoning your Primary Care Practice reception.

To find out if your practice offers the IPMHA service you can check on the wellbeing support website or call your Primary Care Practice reception  Home | Find wellbeing support | Te Whatu Ora – Health NZ

IPMHA Main Office Location
Woollcombe House
Kauri Room
18 Woollcombe Street
Timaru, 7910

Contact Information
Maxine Hutton
Clinical Implementation Lead
ipmha@scdhb.health.nz

Phone: 027 452 5467
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday to Thursday.

If you require an urgent assessment, contact 0800 277 997 or 111 at any time.