Whitiki Maurea - Specialist Maori Mental Health and Addiction Services | Waitematā

Whītiki Maurea is committed to delivering holistic services to tangata whai i te ora. This is accomplished by weaving together Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and Western clinical practice to support tangata whai i te ora and their whānau to achieve the best possible health outcomes.

Whītiki Maurea has three distinct services which work in unison to support tangata whai i te ora and their whānau to achieve the best possible health outcomes. While each of the 3 teams of Whītiki Maurea have a specific focus (cultural, addictions, clinical) we employ staff who may also have dual competencies i.e. cultural and clinical.  These services are described below:

• Te Ātea Marino - a Māori kaupapa based addiction service that supports the recovery of  people aged 13 years and over who live in any of the Metro-Auckland DHBs. The team offers a mix of options including 1:1 sessions, groups and whānau work which are all tikanga aligned. All of our staff are registered counsellors or addiction practitioners and receive Māori cultural supervision and training. 

This service is delivered in several locations across Tāmaki Makaurau.

• MOKO Services – provides Māori kaupapa based specialist mental health services working towards recovery for adults aged 18 to 65 years of age and residing in the Te Whatu Ora Waitematā area. The multidisciplinary team includes psychiatry, psychology, nursing, social work, cultural advisors and occupational therapy who work together to provide assessment and intervention. 

This service is based in Henderson and Takapuna.

•  Te Pae Ahurea - provide the specialist Māori cultural elements that stem from a Māori worldview that makes Whītiki Maurea a distinctive Service within the Specialist Mental Health and Addictions Services. Those cultural elements include:
• fulfilling cultural protocols
• completing cultural assessments on tangata whai i te ora
• cultural interventions 

Te Pae Ahurea staff work across MOKO Services (Mental Health) and Te Ātea Marino (Addictions Service) as well as providing specialist Māori cultural input in the Inpatient units and within other teams across Specialist Mental Health and Addictions Services.

Whītiki Maurea also has Kaumātua who guide and support the delivery of interventions in accordance with the relevant tikanga.