Get Help Now
Parents who get the support and help that they need with parenting are more relaxed and better able to look after their children. If the mother or father is mentally unwell, extra support is essential to help with their recovery, and we encourage anyone to seek advice from a GP, Midwife, or Plunket nurse in the first instance. Support from family/whānau, extended family, friends and other parents may not always be possible or be enough for some families. Extra community support may be needed.
National helplines
Immediate danger
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, please dial 111 for assistance.
Depression-specific helplines
- Depression Helpline – 0800 111 757 or free text 4202 (to talk to a trained counsellor about how you are feeling or to ask any questions)
- www.depression.org.nz – includes The Journal online help service
- SPARX.org.nz – online e-therapy tool provided by the University of Auckland that helps young people learn skills to deal with feeling down, depressed or stressed
Help for parents, family and friends
- Plunketline – A toll-free parent helpline and advice service available to all families, whānau and caregivers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call 0800 933 922 for parenting help. Calls are free from cell phones.
- Plunket Family Centres – Plunket Family Centres provide a free service, offering practical support and information on different whānau topics: 09 489 9778
- Commonground – a website hub providing parents, family, whānau and friends with access to information, tools and support to help a young person who is struggling
- Parent Help – Helpline for support, advice and help on how best to support your family – 0800 568 856
- Family Services 211 Helpline – 0800 211 211 for help finding (and direct transfer to) community based health and social support services in your area
- Family Start – An intensive home visiting programme, focused on tamariki. The programme works with whānau to improve a child’s health, learning and relationships.
- Birthright – Support for one-parent families – 04 802 5377
- Skylight – 0800 299 100 (for support through trauma, loss and grief; 9am-5pm weekdays)
- Supporting Families In Mental Illness – 0800 732 825 (for families and whānau supporting a loved one who has a mental illness)
- Bellyful – 0508 BELLYFUL (0508 2355938) Free meal service for parents and families.
- Crying Over Spilt Milk – 07 855 9350 – Gastric Reflux Support Network NZ
- Budget Advice Services – 04 471 1420
Multiple specific groups
Sexuality or gender identity helpline
Helplines for children and young people
Other specialist helplines
- Alcohol and Drug Helpline – 0800 787 797 or online chat
- Are You OK – 0800 456 450 family violence helpline
- Gambling Helpline – 0800 654 655
- Anxiety phone line – 0800 269 4389 (0800 ANXIETY)
- Seniorline – 0800 725 463 A free information service for older people
- Shine – 0508 744 633 confidential domestic abuse helpline
- Quit Line – 0800 778 778 smoking cessation help
- Vagus Line – 0800 56 76 666 (Mon, Wed, Fri 12 noon – 2pm). Promote family harmony among Chinese, enhance parenting skills, decrease conflict among family members (couple, parent-child, in-laws) and stop family violence
- Women’s Refuge Crisisline – 0800 733 843 (0800 REFUGE) (for women living with violence, or in fear, in their relationship or family)
- Shakti Crisis Line – 0800 742 584 (for migrant or refugee women living with family violence
- Rape Crisis – 0800 883 300 (for support after rape or sexual assault)
Warmlines for consumers of mental health services
Free peer support services for people experiencing mental illness or those supporting them