The aim of this article is to give an overview of Māori concepts informing a collaboration between a Māori healer (NiaNia) and psychiatrist (Bush).
Conclusions:
Wairua (spiritual) problems can resemble psychiatric disorders or symptoms. Knowledge of relevant Māori concepts such as mauri, tapu, mana, matekite and manaakitanga may assist psychiatrists in collaborating with Māori healers and kaumātua (elders) to enable more appropriate cultural and clinical assessment, as well as helping to build rapport and clinical interactions with Māori whānau (individuals and families).
NiaNiaWBushAEpstonD. Collaborative and indigenous mental health therapy: Tātaihono – stories of Māori healing and psychiatry. New York: Routledge, 2017.
3.
DurieM. Māori knowledge and medical science: The interface between psychiatry and traditional healing in New Zealand. In: IncayawarMWintrobRBouchardL (eds) Psychiatrists and traditional healers: unwitting partners in global mental health. Chichester, UK: John Wiley, 2009, pp.237–249.
4.
DurieM. Whaiora: Māori health development. 2nd ed.Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998.
5.
BushANiaNiaW. Voice hearing and pseudoseizures in a Māori teenager: an example of Mate Māori and Māori traditional healing. Australas Psychiatry2012; 20: 348–351.
6.
JohnstoneKReadJ. Psychiatrists’ recommendations for improving bicultural training and Māori mental health services: a New Zealand survey. Aust N Z J Psychiatry2000; 34: 135–145.
LaceyCHuriaTBeckertLet al. The ‘Hui Process’. NZ Med J2011; 124: 1347.
9.
O’HaganMReynoldsPSmithC. Recovery in New Zealand: an evolving concept?Int Rev Psychiatry2012; 24: 56–63.
10.
SachdevP. Mana, Tapu, Noa: Māori cultural constructs with medical and psycho-social relevance. Psychol Med1989; 19: 959–969.
11.
Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council Aboriginal Corporation. Traditional healers of Central Australia: Ngangkari. Broome, Australia: Magabala Books, 2013.
