In Conversation With… Richard Woodcock

For this In Conversation With…, we hear from Richard Woodcock, Manager – Data, Information and Research at Te Pou, whose career across mental health, addiction and child protection services in Aotearoa and Ireland has shaped his perspective on the importance of understanding the people behind the data.

Richard reflects on the challenges of measuring mental health needs and people’s experiences of services, and why data should be viewed as a tool for understanding and improving care, rather than simply reporting numbers.

He also shares his moemoeā for a future where te Tiriti o Waitangi is the foundation of the mental health and addiction system, and people who use services are at the centre of how they are designed.

Could you tell us a little about yourself and the journey that led you to this mahi?

I’m a social worker by training, and most of my career has been spent working in mental health, addiction, and child protection — first here in Aotearoa, and also in Ireland, largely within Hospital and NGO settings. Working across both countries gave me a useful comparison: different systems, different resourcing, but a lot of the same underlying needs. That experience shaped how I think about this mahi now.

What is one achievement or initiative you’re particularly proud of, and what impact has it had for the people and communities you serve?

I don’t often feel like I’ve achieved a great deal, if I’m honest. What I do feel strongly about is putting a voice to data — trying to properly understand what it’s telling us, rather than just reporting numbers. Every data point represents someone’s mother, father, daughter, brother, aunty, uncle, son, friend, or neighbour. If I’ve contributed anything, it’s trying to hold onto that truth and make sure it doesn’t get lost in the reporting.

What has been one of the biggest challenges in your mahi, and what has it taught you?

One of the biggest challenges has been the lack of good prevalence data. A great deal has changed in Aotearoa since Te Rau Hinengaro was completed in 2006, yet we’re still largely relying on data from nearly two decades ago. Alongside that, there’s no real mechanism to understand people’s experience of services — we know very little, in a systematic way, about what it’s actually like to go through the system. That’s taught me that without this information, it’s very hard to know whether we’re making genuine progress or just assuming we are.

If you could change one thing about the mental health and addictions system in Aotearoa, what would it be, and why?

I’d invest in up-to-date prevalence studies and design a proper measure of people’s experience of services. Without both of those, we’re making decisions partly in the dark — we don’t have a clear picture of need, and we don’t have a clear picture of whether services are actually working for the people using them.

What advice would you give to emerging leaders who want to make a positive difference in this space?

Two things: look after your own wellbeing first — this mahi will ask a lot of you, and you can’t pour from an empty cup. And second, see data as a therapeutic tool, not just an administrative one. Used well, it can help us understand and respond to people’s experiences, not just measure them.

Finally, what is your moemoeā for the future of mental health and addiction services in Aotearoa?

My hope is for a mental health and addiction system with te Tiriti o Waitangi as its bedrock, and with the people who use services placed at the centre of how those services are designed.