To order a copy of Ō Mātou Kōrero, Our Stories please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

To help us fundraise for printing and distributing copies around the country, please visit our givealittle page

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, he toa takitini

My strength is not that of an individual, but that of the collective

This whakataukī acknowledges the contribution of the many young people who
contributed their stories, their artworks, and an invitation into their lives.
This book could not have been possible without all of them.

Tēnā koutou,

Ō Mātou Kōrero, Our Stories is a celebration of courage, creativity, and tūhonotanga, connection. It gathers the voices and artworks of young people who have experienced psychosis, offering rare and powerful insights into journeys that are often hidden or misunderstood.

Psychosis can be frightening and isolating, yet these stories remind us that no one walks this path alone. In sharing their experiences, these young people show us the strength that emerges in struggle, the healing that comes from connection, and the mana that grows when stories are told and heard.

This book is both honest and hopeful. It acknowledges the deep challenges of psychosis while celebrating perseverance, creativity, and recovery. Each contribution carries wisdom and authenticity that can validate others’ experiences, offer encouragement to whānau, and help reduce stigma by fostering understanding.

We believe in the power of stories – to educate, to inspire, to connect, and to heal. By giving a platform to young people, Ō Mātou Kōrero, Our Stories honours their journeys, showcases their creativity, and affirms the meaning and hope that can be found through sharing.

It has been our privilege to help bring these voices together, having gathered these stories over the past five years.

Our hope is that this collection will comfort and inspire those on similar journeys, and encourage all of us to listen more deeply, with empathy and respect, to the lived experiences of psychosis.

Nā mātou noa, nā

The Editors

Dr Eleanor Baggott, Consultant Clinical Psychologist I Kaimātai Hinengaro, Tōtara House Early Intervention in Psychosis Service, Ōtautahi Christchurch

Annabelle Schurhammer, Graphic Designer & Illustrator

Anna Ashton, Lived Experience Advisor, Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand, Waitaha Canterbury

To order a copy of Ō Mātou Kōrero, Our Stories please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

To help us fundraise for printing and distributing copies around the country, please visit our givealittle page

Book Launch and Exhibition 

Ka mahi te tawa uho ki te riri - Well done, you whose courage is like the heart of the tawa tree

This whakataukī acknowledges and praises a person's strength, resilience, and determination.

In October 2025, Ō Mātou Kōrero, Our Stories was officially launched alongside a public exhibition at Tūranga Library, Christchurch. The book and exhibition created a powerful platform for sharing lived experience, creativity, and hope.

The book Ō Mātou Kōrero, Our Stories, was recently launched at the NZEIPS Tūhonotanga Early Intervention in Psychosis Conference. Delegates from across the motu were keen to take copies back to their own regions. Funding from the Frozen Funds Charitable Trust enabled us to gift copies of the book to EIP teams across
Aotearoa, so the collection can reach young people and families navigating psychosis and recovery. The positive response reflects the need for lived-experience resources and the resonance of the stories
and artwork in the book, a project five years in the making.

Running alongside the conference, the 2-week Ō Mātou Kōrero exhibition at Tūranga was highly valued by both
conference delegates and members of the public. We observed many people spending time engaging with the
stories and artworks, and we received positive feedback from young people and whānau affected by psychosis, who felt validated, and less alone through the exhibition.

A highlight of the week was the launch event, which brought together contributors, their
families and friends, clinicians and supporters. Several authors and artists who had shared their work in the book performed a selection of stand-up poetry, story readings, and presentations of their artwork. Performances
were deeply moving, offering an intimate and inspiring insight into their journeys.

The launch, exhibition, and celebration together honoured the courage, creativity, and mana of the contributors, and reinforced the power of storytelling in early intervention, healing, and connection. Ō Mātou Kōrero, Our Stories stands as a testament to what is possible when lived experience is centred, valued, and shared.

Tohaina o painga ki te ao
Share your gifts with the world

This whakataukī is telling us that our strengths are our gifts and by sharing these we not only enrich others but we also enrich ourselves.

To the young people who submitted their stories and artwork - this collection is a testament to your bravery, resourcefulness, creativity, and mana. Through sharing your journeys, you have given others a taonga – a gift of hope, connection, and inspiration.

Recognition for Ō Mātou Kōrero, Our Stories