Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says in order to prevent mental health issues in the long-term, more resilience needs to be built in young children. The Government has announced plans to do that.

The Government is set to pour millions into building resilience in young children as part of a $100m package to focus on early intervention in mental health issues.

Cabinet has approved 17 new initiatives to take up the funding that was allocated in the May Budget.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman and Social Investment Minister Amy Adams announced the chosen programmes, following Cabinet approval on Monday afternoon.

CHRIS SKELTON/ STUFF Social Investment Minister Amy Adams says mental health is an investment approach priority for the Government.

The programmes include a mix of trials, service bolstering and expansion across a range of settings closer to communities, as opposed to secondary and tertiary mental health services.

Many of the programmes still had to be developed further with the relevant agencies.

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"We are investing in a schools-based package, focused on building resilience and improving support for children and young people. The package also commits resources to primary and community mental health care, to expand services and upskill the mental health workforce," said Coleman.

"We are also investing in additional distance and e-therapy options, which will enable provision of support earlier in the course of mental disorders and closer to communities."

In line with international trends, demand for mental health and addiction services had increased significantly in recent years.

"The evidence shows that we need to transform our mental health services to build resilience in children and young people to help them better deal with mental health issues, and to learn how to overcome known risk factors like trauma," Coleman said.

Talking at the Prime Minister's post-Cabinet press conference, Coleman broke the funding down further: -

- $5m to ensure anyone who attempts suicide receives on-going support.

- $5m to provide accommodation support with wraparound services for young people at risk of developing or diagnosed with a mental disorder and living in insecure housing situations.

- $8m to further improve the support for people experiencing acute and emergency mental health needs.

- $8m for a multi-agency co-response service for people who call 111 seeking Police or Ambulance in regards to a mental health response.

-$25m into expanding and enhancing primary and community mental health and addiction services and workforce through expanding existing successful services such as the Youth One Stop Shops established as part of the Prime Minister's Youth Mental Health Project and trialling new service delivery models.

"The distance and e-therapy will invest $10 million into distance and e-therapy package – technology has a huge role to play in tailored convenient care in the future.

"We also need to build an evidence based approach. To help do this we will invest $20 million across a four initiatives which will further build the New Zealand evidence base in this area through adapting, trialling and evaluating programmes or approaches from overseas," he said.

"This includes $4 million to pilot a culturally responsive therapy service for children aged 5-12 years that have experienced or been exposed to family and/or sexual violence.

"It also includes $5 million to better understand the full-spectrum of mental health and mental disorders in New Zealand, including a focus on those often missed in research such as our homeless," Coleman said.

Adams said mental health was a social investment priority for the Government.

"It's one of our most challenging social issues and it affects a large number of New Zealanders with complex needs.

"We want to help individuals and their families through the challenges they are facing so they can lead healthier and more independent lives and we will need to bring together a range of services and targeted new approaches to do so," she said.

"With this in mind, we have brought together Ministers, their agencies and experts to deliver a truly cross-Government approach to mental health and to allocate the fund."

As well as a lens placed on building resilience within primary school aged children, the Government work would also aim to improve responses to to people in immediate crisis and extend the coverage of support for people experiencing mild to moderate mental disorders.

"Big data" was a large part of applying the investment approach, and the Government would also build New Zealand's evidence base in this area through adapting, trialling and evaluating programmes or approaches from overseas.

"This package forms part of a wider programme of work to prevent and respond to mental disorders," Coleman said.

The fund was part of a $224 million boost for mental health services over four years in Budget 2017.