Transcript
MONIQUE FALEAFA: We do look at cultural competency and making sure we are using the right talking therapies so it is not just a bio-medical approach, we are making sure we have a holistic approach involving the physical, the cognitive, also the mental and spiritual well-being as well as the family well-being. That holistic approach we know works best with our Pacific communities, particularly for the young ones around cultural identity and coping in New Zealand. Living in those 'two worlds' sometimes can be a bit tricky and I think that the best thing that services can do, firstly, is to make sure that they are accessible for our communities. The biggest problem we have in New Zealand is that our Pacific families and communities seem to have extremely high rates but really low rates of access to services. What we see is Pacific families accessing in crisis when we could have saved so much grief and disruption and distress for that family if we had of intervened really early.
KORO VAKA'UTA: Is it a two-way thing though as well? Trying to get the message out to Pasifika that it is okay to get help, to seek help, as well as the services accessing?
MF: It's definitely two-way. What we try and look at is decreasing that negative stigma and really more foster positive attitudes around mental health and addiction and suicide and disability because when we foster that positive attitude, what we see is actually an increase in help-seeking behaviour. One way we can do that is using better words. In our Pacific languages, some of our words around mental illness can really create a barrier and stigma and stereotype. Some people even say it is demeaning and the words people use can rob them of their mana or their individuality.
KV: One of the mental health nurses that I talked to mentioned the importance of recognising the spiritual side of Pasifika communities. How important is it to recognise how spiritual Pasifika are?
MF: It's fundamental. At Le Va we have what we call the top five tactics for well-being for Pasifika. One of them is spirituality. The other four is; talking, we need to talk about some of the things that are bothering us or distressing; cultural identity is the second; connecting, always to be connecting with people and the environment; strengthening family is the fourth and as I said the fifth is spirituality. Without spirituality, in any form, whether it is more along ancestral culture or whether it is more along christianity, our research shows that without it our well-being is a bit imbalanced.
KV: New Zealand Pacific people seem to be suffering more when it comes to mental health than previous generations that have come from the islands, is that about identity?
MF: Some of it is definitely. There is also a lot of other factors at play but we've got really strong evidence for young Pacific people, the stronger their cultural identity, the stronger their mental well-being. I get people asking, 'well is it culture? Is it mental wellness?' For me, they are inseparable. They are both intertwined, so the stronger the culture, the stronger the well-being.
