Celebrating 20 Years:  He Puna Whakaata  – Therapeutic Approaches

He Puna Whakaata was developed by Dr Andre McLachlan and tested with whānau in the Rangitīkei and Whanganui, as well as the Māori psychologists who attended He Paiaka Totara, Māori psychologist wānanga at Tokorangi Marae in June 2016.

This resulted in the development of the workforce resource He Puna Whakaata: Therapeutic Activities to Guide Change. The resource included Practitioners to take an integrated approach to health and wellbeing and have more than a basic understanding of the principles and workings of a number of different therapeutic techniques and models of practice.

Dr Andre McLachlan was encouraged to expand on his work to create the He Puna Whakaata Practitioner Training Programme. The programme creates a deeper understanding of the resource, while incorporate a range of Whai Tikanga cards created from a Māori worldview. These cards help practitioners improve their understanding of values from a Māori worldview, help identify which values resonate with their clients, and help practitioners and clients understand how clients’ values relate to their health and wellbeing.

For more information on He Puna Whakaata see here