Te Whare Mārie Specialist Māori Mental Health Service

Who our service is for

Our service is for anyone with Māori whakapapa. If it is important to your whanau that a Te Aō Māori lens is held as part of your care that would indicate it fits well to come to our Service rather than mainstream. This might include things like use of karakia, and access to cultural supports such as Kaumatua or relating to wairua experiences. We also provide care following Western models for medication and therapy.

We have two teams:

Tamariki, rangatahi me o ratou whānau (0 to 19 years old)
Pakeke me kaumatua whānau (20 to 65 years).

If you identify as Māori and want to be seen by our services, you will usually be referred to us.

How to access our service

We encourage you first to talk to your GP or other healthcare provider about your mental health as a first step to getting support. Most mental health and addiction difficulties can be treated successfully in primary care. However, your doctor can refer you to us if you need specialist mental health or addiction treatment.

If you need more information, please contact the service directly (see 'How to contact us')

What you can expect if you use our service

Read our brochure here.

The information below applies to both our adult clients (aged 20 to 65 years old) and child clients (0 to 19 years). If you have a child or adolescent in our service you will be expected to liaise with us on behalf of your child.

Once we receive your referral we will arrange a time to meet with you and carry out a Hui Whakatau (therapeutic conversation). This usually takes about 60 to 90 minutes. You can come to see us at Te Whare Marie or an alternative community base.

If we agree that we are the service best placed to help you and you agree, we will develop a plan outlining the care and treatment you require. We encourage you and your whānau to take part in developing the plan.

If we agree we are not the best service for you we will provide you with information about other services that may help you. If you are worried about your cultural needs being met and things being done in a Hauora way, we can give you advice about other services you can use on these issues.

We use Māori interventions in a therapeutic environment, which utilises a strengths-based approach that helps many of our tangata whaiora achieve their aspirations.

We continuously work to include whānau in sustainable recovery from mental illness, combining Māori cultural concepts with western clinical models of mental health care.

Who we are and the care we provide

Our whānau includes administrators, Kaumatua, a cultural therapist, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, a child psychotherapist, an occupational therapist, nurses and a support worker.

To provide tools for people to better manage stress and mitigate their problems,we promote the use of cultural practices and frameworks to empower individuals and whānau who enter our service. These are used alongside clinical interventions including but not limited to:

cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
dialectal behaviour therapy (DBT)
acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
eye movement desensitisation reprocessing (EMDR)..

We provide tautoko (support) and education with understanding and managing an individual’s journey to recovery.

How to contact us

If you have already been referred to our service, please use the contact details below.

We are open 8.30am until 5pm Monday to Friday (closed public holidays).

Phone: 0800 300 184
04 230 6322
Address: 30 Kenepuru Drive, Puketiro Centre, Porirua.

There is a large car park outside the centre.

Last updated 21 March 2024.

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