Demand for mental health and addiction services increased by 73% in the last decade as revealed by the NZ Government’s 2024 Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry. 

For many it’s a struggle to find support, and Carly Laughton knows this battle all too well. Having faced these barriers first-hand, Carly has gained a Certificate in Health and Wellbeing – Mental Health and Addiction Support from Unitec, and is now a tireless advocate for others. This is her story.

Using was always Carly’s solution for “getting outside” of herself. Some of her earliest memories were “pretty scary,” so she soothed herself with things she could control. This started with food, but as she grew up, she moved to cannabis, alcohol, party pills and methamphetamine. But it was opiates that brought her to her knees.

At around 15 years old, Carly was placed in a home for young people with chronic mental illness, and in her teenage years, she tried hard to get the help she desperately needed. But to qualify for rehab treatment, she first needed to be clean – what seemed an absurd requirement to Carly.

“If I knew how to stop using for a couple of weeks, then I’m not sure I would need to come to treatment,” she reflects. 

She also experienced first-hand a massive disconnect between mental health and drug addiction services. Battling drug-induced psychosis, she didn’t qualify for either service and felt herself slipping through the cracks. Advocating for herself wasn’t getting her anywhere, so, in desperation, Carly eventually turned herself in for a crime. 

“It was the only way I could get access to treatment,” she remembers.

After getting clean, she started her journey of learning with Unitec’s Certificate in Health and Wellbeing – Mental Health and Addiction Support.  

“Even through all of my using, I always had the motivation to be a youth worker. The presence of one non-parental caring adult can change a person’s life – I’ve experienced that,” Carly says.

She sees herself as a living example of the power of education as a relapse-prevention tool. 

“To feel good enough about myself to stop putting drugs in my system, I need to change who I thought I was. Education did that for me,” she says.

“My qualification isn’t my trauma anymore,” says Carly proudly.

Armed with lived experience, deep understanding and practical skills

With lived experience from 15 years of age, Carly knows too well the struggles people face to access the support they need. 

These days, as a Youth CEP (co-existing problems) Clinician, Carly is also working towards a Master’s in Health Science at Auckland University of Technology. Between studying, travelling and spending time with her children, Carly guest lectures and advocates for systemic change, especially where it concerns rangatahi in the youth justice system. 

Unitec’s New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing – Mental Health and Addiction Support has further empowered her with the skills to support those in need – to the highest standard