The DOI matches its Crossref record; 38 of the 38 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Mahi a Atua: A Māori approach to mental health
Abstract
Māori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand. European colonisation had a devastating effect on their communities and their way of life. While there is some evidence of a renaissance of Māori culture in recent years, like other indigenous people across the world, they continue to be massively overrepresented in their country’s figures for poor mental and physical health. In this paper, we briefly review the literature on the Movement for Global Mental Health and review the case that has been made for the use of indigenous psychologies in place of approaches based on Western psychiatry and psychology. We present two case histories where an intervention based on an indigenous Māori approach to negotiating emotional conflicts and dealing with mental health problems was used. This approach, called Mahi a Atua, was developed by two of the authors over a number of years. We conclude that indigenous approaches to mental health offer not just an adjunct to, but a real alternative to, the interventions of Western psychiatry. They provide a framework through which individuals and families can negotiate their journeys through mental health crises and difficulties. However, such approaches can also work on a socio-cultural level to promote a positive identity for indigenous communities by celebrating the power of indigenous deities, narratives, and healing practices that were marginalised and suppressed by the forces of colonisation.
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Cites
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Cited by
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Advancing Indigenous Mental Health Research
Gone, J. P., & Kirmayer, L. J. (2020) · Transcultural Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/1363461520923151 · Cited by 111
Karl, J. A., Johnson, F. N., Bucci, L., & Fischer, R. D. (2021) · Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand · doi:10.1080/03036758.2021.1915804 · Cited by 62
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Considering practice frameworks for culturally diverse populations in the correctional domain
Strauss‐Hughes, A., Ward, T. J., & Neha, T. N. (2021) · Aggression and Violent Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.avb.2021.101673 · Cited by 25
Metadata
- Authors
- Maree Kopua, D., Kopua, M. A., & Bracken, P. J.
- Affiliations
- Hauora Tairāwhiti
- Tohunga Moko Hauora Tairāwhiti
- Corresponding author
- Kopua, Mark A
- ORCID
- Bracken, Patrick J
- Venue
- Transcultural Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2019-05-24
- Volume
- 57
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 375-383
- ISSN
- 1363-4615 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7471
- OpenAlex
- W2946727622
- Cited by
- 64
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 4
- FWCI
- 3.10
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Transcultural Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Cultural, Psychoanalytic, and Sociopolitical Reflections
- Keywords
- Māori mental health, indigenous psychology, indigenous deities, indigenous narratives, healing practices, colonization, indigenous identity, Māori culture
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Mental Disorders, Female, Humans, Male, Mental Health, Mental Health Services, New Zealand, Qualitative Research, Young Adult, Narrative Therapy
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