Mental Health A Person-centred Approach

There are many ways of being Māori. Ethnicity in New Zealand has now moved to a more contemporary approach of self-identification that assumes ethnicity is not static and predetermined. This means that any combination of physical features, cultural beliefs and ways of living can be found in people who self-identify as Māori. For Māori, health and culture are intricately linked, so there are vital aspects of te ao Māori (the Māori worldview) that must be understood in relation to their mental health experiences in order to provide safe and effective care. In this chapter we discuss how practitioners from all cultural backgrounds can engage with tangata whaiora and whānau in mental health and addiction settings. It will be helpful for people practising in the New Zealand context, as well as those who encounter people of Māori descent in Australia or elsewhere. It will assist practitioners to consider how institutional racism might influence their ability to care for Māori, and will encourage the exploration of personal cultural beliefs to transcend this.