Annah Hennessy

Clinical Social Worker
Child, Adolescent and Family Service

“We often see children and teenagers struggle to go to school or even leave the house due to the severity of their symptoms. As a result, we see a lot of parents and caregivers who are in crisis mode. They see their child in distress and pain and they feel helpless.”

Annah Hennessy has achieved a lot in her 29 years.

She’s completed a Bachelor of Social Services, a Masters in Applied Social Work, plus post-graduate qualifications in mental health and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

For the past four years, she’s worked as a Clinical Social Worker and Case Manager at the Child, Adolescent and Family (CAF) mental health service.

“When people come to CAF, they’re not here because life is great ̶ they’re here when life is really hard,” Annah says.

Most of Annah’s work involves completing psychiatric assessments and providing psychoeducation and evidence-based therapy for young people up to 18 years old who have conditions such as anxiety, ADHD, depression, PTSD, and OCD.

Many of the children and young people she sees are at the severe end of the scale.

“I see a lot of anxiety. We often see children and teenagers struggle to go to school or even leave the house due to the severity of their symptoms.

“As a result, we see a lot of parents and caregivers who are in crisis mode. They see their child in distress and pain and they feel helpless.”

Annah says her role is to help young people figure out what’s contributing to their challenges and to find a way through it.

Seeing her patients thrive after being in her care is what keeps her going.

“I really hold onto the wins. I have a corkboard in my office and when families have written cards, or kids have drawn me a picture, I put it on my corkboard. It’s so cool because there are some people who I’ve seen who couldn’t even be on their own in a room with me for five minutes and now they’re back at school, they’ve got friends, they can take the bus. They’re able to do things they’ve always wanted to do.

“To see them thrive and to see parents in a better space, feeling like they understand and that they’ve got the tools to support their young person, that’s what really does it for me.”

Annah says they try to be warm and approachable in their mahi and the spaces where they see patients need to reflect this, but currently they don’t.

This is why Annah is supporting Māia Health Foundation’s Better Space Appeal to raise $1 million for a new, fit-for-pupose outpatient facility for child and youth mental health. The new space will be

called Kahurangi, which means “blue skies”. In total, Māia has commited to raise $6 million towards the project.

“We need our community to join us to help bring Kahurangi to life. This new, purpose-designed facility will be more spacious, inviting, and include a much-needed sensory room. People will see and feel the difference the moment they walk into the new spaces and that will help early engagement.

“By supporting Māia’s Better Space Appeal we are supporting the increasing number of young people who need specialist mental health support. I know having a new, purpose-designed outpatient space is going to make a huge difference for our young people but I think once we’re in this new facility the difference will be greater than we ever imagined.”

For further information or to give to Māia’s Better Space Appeal go to www.betterspace.org.nz.