Kua whakaorangia ko te taonga taiaha : an integrated kaupapa Mäori process for substance abuse treatment

Abstract

This research explores the models of therapy used in the treatment of substance abuse by Alcohol and Drug therapists who identify their practice as kaupapa Mäori based. The basis of this research is guided by: The analysis of Western/mainstream and Indigenous/Mäori models of health. The identification and acknowledgment of several current Mäori and mainstream models of therapy, and, Kaimahi perspectives on areas of fit and disjunction within these models of therapy and their applicability to substance abuse treatment. Participants identified various elements vital to the practice of Mäori models of therapy. These elements are referred to as takipu (constructs). The takipu that were most acknowledged were whänau, whänaungatanga, whenua, kawa and tikanga with the latter encompassing the other takipu at various stages. The Taiaha was identified as sharing similar dimensions to the takipu outlined above. As such, the analogy for a kaupapa Mäori process of substance abuse treatment came in the physical and metaphorical form of the Taiaha. Te Whare Tapa Wha was used as the framework through which the Taiaha process could be more easily conceptualised.