Funded by: The Health Research Council of New Zealand

Date: June 2019-December 2021

Amount Awarded: $150,000

Project Team: Dr Natasha Tassell-Matamua (PI), Dr Nicole Lindsay, Dr Hukarere Valentine, Dr Pikihuia Pomare, Ms Paris Pidduck, Dr Felicity Ware, Ms Lisa Stewart, Dr Simon Bennett, Dr John Pahina

Grounded in an Indigenous Psychologies framework, the research investigated how anomalous phenomena are interpreted.

Using an online quantitative survey, responses were gathered from Māori and non-Māori members of the general population and explored how they interpreted a range of unusual phenomena and whether they would seek professional help for such phenomena.

Using a case vignette approach, data was gathered from Māori and non-Māori mental health workers, and explored to determine how these workers interpreted and diagnosed the specific cases.

Findings so far challenged current conceptualisations of what mental well-being mean, and suggest ongoing education about anomalous phenomena is required to ensure such experiences are not pathologized, particularly by mental health workers in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Project Outputs:

Lindsay, N., Tassell-Matamua, N., Haami, D., Ware, F., Valentine, H., & Pomare, P. (2021). Construction of a ‘Beliefs about Exceptional Experiences Scale’ (BEES): Implications of preliminary findings in Aotearoa New Zealand. Journal for the Study of Spirituality. 11(2), 145-158.

Lindsay, N., Haami, D., Tassell-Matamua, N., Pomare, P., Valentine, H., Pahina, J., . . . Pidduck, P. (2020). The spiritual experiences of contemporary Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand: A qualitative analysis.. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2021, 6 August). Bringing the ‘psyche’ back to psychology. Why wairuatanga matters for Māori well-being [Oral presentation]. Religious Studies Program Seminar Series, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2021, 24 September). Bringing the ‘psyche’ back to psychology. Why wairuatanga matters for counselling psychology [Oral presentation]. Counselling Psychology Program Seminar, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2021, 25 November). From niche to necessity. Implications of near-death experiences [Oral presentation]. Oncology Social Work Australia New Zealand Association, Online.