Lecture 23: Engaging rangatahi Maori in mental health services

Question 1

Rangatahi Maori traditionally

Answer 1

• Expansive idea of youth unlike traditional Western lifespan dev.
• Whakapapa & te pa harakeke (flaxbush) as key elements to growing up with te ao maori
• Nurturing is essential glowing for blossoming
• Intergenerational learning of tikanga was key = passing on knowledge
• Rangatahi -> Rangatira (young people today -> lead community in future)

Question 2

Rangatahi Maori now

Answer 2

• Huge potential
• Youthful population = almost 1/2 of Maori under 20, half under 24
• 1/4 of those <20 are Maori
• Largest group in Auckland
• Higher prevalence of MH issues and substance use but less likely to engage in services except when referred through force
• Twice the risk of suicide
• Lower educational outcomes
• 60% of police apprehensions, 61% of court appearances
• More likely to live in deprived areas

Question 3

Colonisation & Resistance - understanding how Maori got here

Answer 3

Colonisation:
- Resistance
- Loss of whakapapa = disconnection, loss of relationality, marginalisation
- Racism = in institution, in society, in systems
- Cultural genocide = language, practices
Christianity:
- Land theft, poverty, urbanisation, assimilation

Question 4

Identity for Rangatahi

Answer 4

• Te reo = diverse abilities
• Maoritanga = diverse understandings
• Whanau = whakapapa whanau & kaupapa whanau
• Personal strengths = unique skills & characteristics

Question 5

What does this mean for psychologists?

Answer 5

• Maori lives are diverse & rich, our aspirations for our whanau expansive
• Our existence is resistance & to work with us means attending to our diverse experiences & backgrounds
• Tikanga, whanau, culture & what these mean to us are dynamic and grow with us

Question 6

What can psychologists do to support Rangatahi Maori?

Answer 6

• Build a toolkit of techniques which enable us to walk between Maori & Pakeha spaces without having to compromise sense of self or identity

Question 7

Whanautanga

Answer 7

The process of relationship building:

• Pepeha locate you within a context of relationships, highlighting connections you have through your whakapapa
• Tapu & mana are crucial to this process
• These connections need to be maintained & meaningful to generate change and they take time
• Te reo, karakia, kai etc. can facilitate this

Question 8

A me te o:

Answer 8

• A way of understanding your relationship to world around you
• Describes whether something uplifts or supports you, or vice versa
• A category = things you support e.g. client
• O category = things that support you

Question 9

Therapy styles

Answer 9

• Whanau-centred = if whanau is not well, how can we flourish?
• Maori models = Te Whare Tapa Wha, Meihana Model
• Purakau = drawing on narratives & whakapapa korero to highlight struggles and resistance
• Holistic = attends to all of ‘us’, our histories, contexts & realities

Question 10

Reflections

Answer 10

• Know the history of Aotearoa
• Matauranga and culture are healing = clinicians need to know how to support people’s right to flourish as Maori and be advocates for them
• It is a huge privilege to work with Maori = living forces of their ancestors