Jennifer Dewar
Physiotherapist
Child, Adolescent and Family Service
“Often the children we see are extremely unwell and some have reached crisis point. I often have to do a lot of work to get them comfortable to do a simple breathing exercise or building up trust to get them in the room in the first place.”
Jenny Dewar started her physio journey at The Princess Margaret Hospital as a new graduate. Now, 17 years later, she’s back there working with the Child, Adolescent and Family (CAF) mental health service.
Jenny says people sometimes don’t understand how the work of a physio fits with mental health care, but often a patients’ mental illness is a barrier to accessing proper health care so they need a more holistic approach.
“For example, we might get a teenager who has depression and anxiety who plays basketball as a coping strategy. But they’ve had knee pain for a year, and they’ve stopped playing so everything spiralled downhill. Or we may have a young person who needs support physically recovering from self-harm injuries to support their mental recovery. That’s where I help.”
It’s not just physical injuries that Jenny works with.
“A lot of young people with mental health issues feel disconnected from their body. They say things like they don’t know if they’re in the right body or in their own body, or they find it hard to pick up physical signals like knowing if they’re hungry, tired, hot or cold. So often my work is about connecting them back to their body.”
Sometimes Jenny’s work involves the simple act of breathing.
“I educate young people about why breath is important for your brain. Understanding the connection between the breath, the body and the brain is really important for positive mental health.”
For some of Jenny’s patients, however, engaging with therapy is a challenge.
“Often the children we see are extremely unwell and some have reached crisis point. I often have to do a lot of work to get them comfortable to do a simple breathing exercise or building up trust to get them in the room in the first place.
“When we think about physical wellbeing we're not just talking about our bodies, we're talking about our environment as well. I'm so busy working on people's physical health that it seems counterproductive to be doing it in a non-physically pleasing environment.”
That’s why Jenny is supporting Māia Health Foundation’s Better Space Appeal which aims to raise $1 million for a new, purpose-designed and built child and youth outpatient space for mental health. The Better Space Appeal is part of Māia Health Foundation’s commitment to raise $6 million for the
new outpatient space which will be called Kahurangi.
Jenny says it’s time we, as a community, value our young people – because what is the future otherwise?
“Young people in Christchurch have been in crisis for a really long time from so many adverse things
that have happened here.
“If we’re expecting them to grow from these traumas, we have to give them the support they need, and that requires a good space where we can support them.”
Jenny is excited to see Kahurangi come to life.
“Kahurangi is going to include a dedicated physio room which will offer a much bigger and better space for my patients. It will also provide a stronger alignment between my work and the work of the wider team, which is going to directly benefit the children and young people we work with. It’ll make a huge difference.”
For further information or to give to Māia’s Better Space Appeal go to www.betterspace.org.nz.
