Supporting Parents Healthy Children (SPHC)

What is it and why is it important?

Supporting Parents Healthy Children (SPHC) is a Ministry of Health initiative aimed at supporting parents with mental illness and/or addiction and their children. It acknowledges the people with experience of mental illness and/ or addiction and highlights the impact these challenges have on families and those vulnerable children.

Find out more information about SPHC and watch our SPHC in South Canterbury webinar below:

A Guideline was introduced in 2015 by Ministry of Health as a development plan to ensure that the wellbeing of children is every body’s responsibility. It provides guidance on the specific actions needed across mental health and addictions sector to improve services.

These guidelines provide all mental health and addiction services, adult and child services alike, with the mandate to work in a family-focused way to help parents, who are in the service, achieve the best for their children. This will ensure that the wellbeing of children is everyone’s responsibility, not just infant, child and adolescent services.

A review of this guideline is currently underway (August 2023).

Our Team
  • Click here to view the Supporting Parents Healthy Children (SPHC) team.
Resources