An Indigenous Approach to Mental Health: Kōrero about Te Kaupapa

Mental Health Awareness Week (September 23-29) sparked vital conversations about mental health and wellbeing. From home to mahi, in-person to online, its impact was far-reaching and served as an important reminder to look after our hauora and that of our community.

We sat down for a kōrero with two of our kaimahi from Te Kaupapa, NHC's culturally led and clinically supported mental health and addictions service, where every day is about giving whānau the tools and support they need to foster positive wellbeing.

Tēnā kōrua, thanks for making the time to kōrero with us! First off, can you tell us a bit about what each of you do here at NHC?

Ashleigh Latimer: āe tēnā koe, ko Ngāti Kahu te iwi, Patuharakeke te hapu, he Pou ārahi ahau ki Te Kaupapa a Culturally Lead & Clinical Supported Indigenous for whānau experiencing distress.

Kia ora, my name is Ashleigh Latimer, and I serve as the Program Lead for the Kaupapa Māori Mental Health & Addiction Contract at the National Hauora Coalition (NHC), which we have named Te Kaupapa. My primary objective is to ensure that NHC, as a tuakana commissioning agent, allocates contracted funding within an equitable framework to our ten partner providers across Tāmaki Makaurau, Counties Manukau, and Waikato, and that we support a 'for whānau, by whānau' approach to service delivery for whānau in distress or living with mental health & addiction concerns.

Additionally, NHC is also a service provider, my role here is to amplify the voice of whānau, ensuring their mild to moderate mental health and addiction needs are met through an indigenous framework. This service is delivered through kaimahi across the three regions, supporting Māori-led solutions for whānau wellbeing.

Anneke Hepi: Teenaa koutou, he mokopuna ahau noo Ngaati Wai, noo Ngaa Puhi, noo Ngai Te Rangi hoki. My role within NHC is Te Kaupapa Practice Lead. I have the honour of working alongside Pou Aarahi and Pou Oranga in Taamaki and Waikato. My role is to support and manage the day to day delivery of service to whaanau in Te Kaupapa through our frontline kaimahi. I support the escalation space in Te Kaupapa, providing cultural support alongside our clinical advisor Hinekura Ngataki and program lead Ashleigh Latimer. I am also the representative for Te Kaupapa on Ohu Tikanga Taumata.?

Te Kaupapa is NHC’s mental health and addictions service. Can you tell us about the programme, what it offers, and how it works?

Anneke: Te Kaupapa is a kaupapa Maaori support service for whaanau in distress. We work together with whaanau utilising a holistic approach that prioritises maatauranga Maaori as a pathway to wellness. Through a series of waananga delivered to groups and individuals, our Pou Oranga offer narrative therapy and therapeutic waananga to help support the improvement of whaanau wellbeing. Te Kaupapa is driven by whaanau voice and together, Pou Oranga and whaanau agree to what the series of waananga will look like. Some of the therapeutic practices in waananga are: karakia, whakawaatea, pure, taonga puoro, mahi toi, maramataka for wellness, and rongoaa ki te taiao. Whaanau can self-refer or be referred by their clinician or support services. Te Kaupapa service support is free and open to all ages.

Te Kaupapa is described as a ‘by Māori, for Māori approach’. How does matauranga Māori inform your mahi in the mental health space?

Anneke: Our Maaori way of being and Maaori world view means that we are drawing on the ways of ngaa atua Maaori and our tuupuna to inform our approaches to viewing distress and mental health. The application of maatauranga Maaori supports whaanau to help shift mindsets and incorporate tuupuna practices to strengthen whaanau abilities to reinstate, maintain and sustain wellness in their whaanau.?

Can you describe the impact Te Kaupapa is having on the mental health of whānau Māori? What are you seeing from those who have been through the programme, how are they doing?

Anneke: Whaanau voice tells us that whaanau feel heard and respected in Te Kaupapa. Whaanau are happy with the therapeutic alliance that is established with Te Kaupapa practitioners, enabling them to safely share and work through the distresses that are impacting them. Whaanau are able to engage in te reo Maaori, able to reconnect back to their whakapapa, and experience rituals and practices of our tuupuna. Whaanau that have reached their place in te ao marama have exited service with tools, strategies and approaches that support continued self healing, emotional regulation and the ability to navigate life’s distresses through maatauranga Maaori.

Last week (23-29 September 2024) was Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme was “Community is… what we create together”. For Te Kaupapa, every day is about Mental Health Awareness – how does the concept of community align with the programme?

Ashleigh: Our first approach to community aligns with the core values of Te Kaupapa through a collective strategy that involves iwi and kaupapa Māori provider partners. Te Kaupapa embodies collaboration, ensuring that our partners work together to support the needs of whānau, grounded in a Māori worldview. By doing so, we empower whānau and hapori (community) with the resources they need and increase their access to kaimahi support, ensuring sustainable and safe pathways.

Our second approach focuses on upholding the value of whakawhanaungatanga. This involves supporting a trusting and supportive relationship with whānau, building their confidence, strengthening their support networks, enhancing their knowledge of available resources, deepening their connections within their communities.

Mental Health Awareness Week is a fitting reminder to reconnect with people we know and love. What words of advice would you like to share around supporting our community, not just during that week but year-round?

Anneke: Everyone is dealing with something in their lives, sometimes we don’t know what that is, so please find kindness in how we engage with others.

Two whakataukii that I would like to share here are:?

1. "Me titiro whakamuri kia anga whakamua." Looking backwards to move forward into the future. Taonga tuku iho, giftings handed down by our tuupuna hold the key to sustained wellness for all people, our whakapapa holds our rongoaa.?
2. "E kore au e ngaro, he kaakano ahau i ruia mai I Rangiaatea." I can never be lost, I am a seed sown from Rangiaatea. We are the hopes and the dreams of our tuupuna, we all have purpose in this world.

Ashleigh: Be kind to one another and I support what Anneke has said – these whakataukī speak highly to the unconditional aroha we must demonstrate in practice and with our whānau “Kotahitanga” Kingi Tuheitia.

To connect with Te Kaupapa, you can email us directly at [email protected] or click on any of the services on our website and let them know you need help.