Join Ngati Porou psychiatrist Dr Diana Kopua who gives us an insight into her work developing Mahi a Atua, a Māori approach to well-being which draws on the stories, narratives and healing practices of te ao Māori. Her work in Tūranganui A Kiwa has delivered significant health benefits for whānau and the services in the region.
It is an approach that encourages practitioners to actively engage in Māori interventions that draw from the Māori creation and custom stories known as pūrākau to understand how tipuna understood and made sense of their realities.
Mahi a Atua is not just a set of techniques or a culturally sensitive therapy. It is a drastically different way of conceptualizing the lived experience of the Maori. It is a way of being, and strengthens our relationship with whakapapa, relationships with our own stories. The pūrākau (storytelling) help us to collectively design and operationalise indigenous knowledge systems that improve all of community outcomes.
Join Dr Kopua to learn about Mahi a Atua and the importance of language and narratives in how we understand our world and improve our being, our whānau and our communities.
Resources- Article about Dr Di and Mark Kopua’s practice
- Atua Matua Māori Health Framework created by Dr Ihirangi Heke
- More coming soon
MBChB; Fellow RANZCP; Iwi: Ngāti Porou
In the mid-1990’s Dr Diana Kopua developed Mahi a Atua, an indigenous approach that responds to ongoing issues regarding institutional racism and inequity for Māori within New Zealand health services and society. The Mahi a Atua approach has been utilised by multiple practitioners across various sectors within New Zealand society including art, health, education, justice and the social services sector. Diana, in collaboration with her husband Mark Kopua, a tohunga and Tā Moko practitioner, are committed to indigenising their respective communities of practice and are pioneers within their fields.
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