Abstract
Indigenous experiences of mental health are inevitably affected by the historical trauma experienced by colonization. Instead of looking solely to the dominant western ideas to address these issues, Māori social workers are using ancestral, cultural, spiritual, and contemporary indigenous practices to meet the health and well-being needs of Māori. This chapter presents Tā (Sir) Mason Durie’s (2001) Māori model of practice Te Whare Tapa Whā, an extension into Pitama’s et al. (2007) Meihana model, and then applies the Meihana model to a case study. There is no “one solution” or quick fix in this case study, and the authors acknowledge the variables involved when working in the area of mental health and the importance of critical reflection in practice.
This chapter is written by four Māori women who are social workers, academics, supervisors, mothers, and members of their own tribal groups. The authors write from their unique perspectives that are inevitably shaped by their histories, tribal affiliations, and social work practice.
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Mooney, H., Watson, A.(., Ruwhiu, P., Hollis-English, A. (2020). Māori Social Work and Māori Mental Health in Aotearoa New Zealand. In: Ow, R., Poon, A. (eds) Mental Health and Social Work. Social Work. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0440-8_9-1
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