{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,18]],"date-time":"2026-06-18T10:58:49Z","timestamp":1781780329845,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,5,24]],"date-time":"2019-05-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1558656000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Transcult Psychiatry"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:p> M\u0101ori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand. European colonisation had a devastating effect on their communities and their way of life. While there is some evidence of a renaissance of M\u0101ori culture in recent years, like other indigenous people across the world, they continue to be massively overrepresented in their country\u2019s figures for poor mental and physical health. In this paper, we briefly review the literature on the Movement for Global Mental Health and review the case that has been made for the use of indigenous psychologies in place of approaches based on Western psychiatry and psychology. We present two case histories where an intervention based on an indigenous M\u0101ori approach to negotiating emotional conflicts and dealing with mental health problems was used. This approach, called Mahi a Atua, was developed by two of the authors over a number of years. We conclude that indigenous approaches to mental health offer not just an adjunct to, but a real alternative to, the interventions of Western psychiatry. They provide a framework through which individuals and families can negotiate their journeys through mental health crises and difficulties. However, such approaches can also work on a socio-cultural level to promote a positive identity for indigenous communities by celebrating the power of indigenous deities, narratives, and healing practices that were marginalised and suppressed by the forces of colonisation. <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/1363461519851606","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,5,25]],"date-time":"2019-05-25T06:29:40Z","timestamp":1558765780000},"page":"375-383","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":29,"title":["Mahi a Atua: A M\u0101ori approach to mental health"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"57","author":[{"given":"Diana","family":"Maree Kopua","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Hauora Tair\u0101whiti"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mark A","family":"Kopua","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tohunga Moko Hauora Tair\u0101whiti"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Patrick J","family":"Bracken","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hauora Tair\u0101whiti"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,5,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-1363461519851606","volume-title":"M\u0101ori Mental Health Needs Profile Summary: A Review of the Evidence","author":"Baxter J.","year":"2008"},{"key":"bibr2-1363461519851606","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/j.1440-1614.2006.01911.x"},{"key":"bibr3-1363461519851606","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1363461514539830"},{"key":"bibr4-1363461519851606","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S2045796016000494"},{"key":"bibr5-1363461519851606","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1363461512454643"},{"key":"bibr6-1363461519851606","first-page":"319","volume":"1","author":"Cohen B.","year":"2014","journal-title":"Disability and the Global South"},{"key":"bibr7-1363461519851606","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/475027a"},{"key":"bibr8-1363461519851606","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1467-9566.12230"},{"key":"bibr9-1363461519851606","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1363461508094673"},{"key":"bibr10-1363461519851606","volume-title":"The Heroic Client: Doing Client-directed, Outcome-informed Therapy","author":"Duncan B. 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(2001) The \u201cDeep Sleep of Forgetfulness\u201d: Reflecting on disremembering. In L. J. Kirmayer, M. E. Macdonald and G. M. Brass (Eds.), The Mental Health of Indigenous Peoples. Proceedings of the Advanced Study Institute: The Mental Health of Indigenous Peoples McGill Summer Program in Social & Cultural Psychiatry and the Aboriginal Mental Health Research Team May 29 \u2013 May 31, 2000 Montr\u00e9al, Qu\u00e9bec. Retrieved from www.mcgill.ca\/tcpsych\/files\/tcpsych\/Report10.pdf."},{"key":"bibr24-1363461519851606","first-page":"1","volume-title":"Justice, Ethics and New Zealand Society","author":"Jackson M.","year":"1992"},{"key":"bibr25-1363461519851606","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.socscimed.2012.03.018"},{"key":"bibr26-1363461519851606","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1363461514536358"},{"key":"bibr27-1363461519851606","unstructured":"Kirmayer, L. J, Macdonald, M. E. & Brass, G.M. (2001) Introduction. In L. J. Kirmayer, M. E. Macdonald, & G. 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