The application of personality assessment for clinical and personnel decisions has long been an activity of interest to psychologists all over the world. In South Africa, personality assessment tools are used for the purpose of hiring, for placement decisions, to guide and assess training and development, and to evaluate the performance of workers. Psychological testing in South Africa was formerly initiated with white test takers in mind. It has been found that, currently, none of the available personality questionnaires provide a reliable and valid picture of personality for all cultural (language) groups living in South Africa. With South Africa's new Constitution in 1994 came stronger demands for the cultural appropriateness of psychological tests. The implicit perspectives of personality of Zulu-speaking South Africans were determined in this study. These will enable psychologists to work towards developing a personality assessment tool that is fair to all South African cultural (language) groupings. A qualitative research design was used with an interview as data-gathering instrument. A Zulu-speaking fieldworker was recruited to interview 141 Zulu-speaking South Africans, mainly from KwaZulu-Natal. The study population was purposely drawn from different sections of the Zulu-speaking population. A total of 6 465 Zulu-speaker personality descriptors was obtained from the respondents and then translated into English. Content analysis was used to analyse, interpret, and reduce these descriptors to a total of 179 (reduced to 128 personality characteristics), which highlight the most important perspectives of personality for Zulu-speaking individuals. The personality characteristics were divided into six categories, namely, drive, emotions, interpersonal factor, meanness, sociability, and other. The majority of the characteristics are representative of the socialistic nature of the Zulu people. Zulu-speaking persons are caring, loving, religious, helping, talkative, in touch with their sexuality, and extroverted. The findings of this study were compared to the Five Factor Model (FFM), and evidence was found for the extroversion factors, but no support or evidence was found for the openness to experience factor, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and agreeableness. In comparison with the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI), support was found for 13 of the 22 personality scales. Characteristics such as emotionality, responsibility, inferiority versus self-acceptance, meanness, slickness, family orientation, relationship orientation, harmony, flexibility, modernisation, introversion versus extroversion, leadership, and social orientation can be seen as characteristics indigenous to the Zulu culture. Recommendations were made for future research. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

This qualitative study was designed to investigate Asian Indian counselors’ lived experiences of integrating Indian/Eastern and Western counseling approaches in India and their perceptions of the adequacy of training provided to them. Scholars have documented the growing disillusionment with applicability of Western theories in India (e.g., Misra & Paranjpe, 2012) and argued how insights of traditional Indian origin can contribute to the understanding of psychological issues (e.g., Arulmani, 2007). However, several challenges in training programs for counselors and psychologists in India have been noted (Dalal, 2008). Also, there is a lack of empirical research on the integration of Indian/Eastern and Western approaches. To fill this gap in the literature, I conducted a phenomenological study with counselors in India. The participants (N = 8; age range: 25-52 years) all identified as female counselors working in a metropolitan/urban area in India with clinical experiences ranging from eight months to 20 years. Individual interviews with each participant and follow-up interviews with two of them were conducted. The interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA; Smith & Osborn, 2008) method was followed for data collection and analysis. Peer debriefing, member check, and external audit were conducted. Results from this study provide insights into how counselors adapted Western counseling theories to the Indian context, incorporated indigenous concepts in counseling, attempted to integrate Indian/Eastern and Western approaches, experienced challenges in counseling and training, and suggested ways to overcome these challenges. Implications for clinical practice, training, and policy are discussed.

The focus of this dissertation is to explore contextually relevant ideas through conversation around behaviour problems, specifically bullying, experienced in primary schools situated in the township of Mamelodi. The study explores the relationship around bullying between the members of the school staff involved with the children, the children identified as manifesting bullying behaviour, their families and any relevant community system or individuals as identified by the research participants themselves through conversation. It focuses on providing a description of experiences around bullying behaviour facing the participants by exploring their own perspectives and meanings around their situation and any possible solutions that they may offer. The focus is of an exploratory and descriptive nature to provide a basis for an intervention that is contextually relevant to this community by acknowledging these locally constructed discourses. An ecological approach within a postmodern social constructionist theoretical backdrop is chosen for this study. It is an approach that emphasises the importance of context and the social constructionist influence emphasises the importance of language. Three primary schools in the Mamelodi Township were approached to participate. One ecological case study from one of the three schools is used in the analysis to explore the aims of this research. Data was gathered through semi-structured open-ended interviews. Discourse analysis is used to construct the various discourses emerging from the conversations resulting from the interviews. Through the discourse analysis the various meanings, experience or understanding around bullying are constructed. The interaction of these various discourses and influence that they have on each other are also considered. The possible influence of background discourses of the wider community and society are included. These discourses are presented not as truths but as a plausible a construction of an ecology of bullying grounded in background and events. Using theses discourses some of the possible implications for a contextually and locally relevant intervention programme and further ideas for research are suggested. As the study focuses on contextual relevance, arguments around indigenous psychology, cross cultural research and the role of interpreters are also considered. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Psychology / unrestricted

Thesis (MA(Psychology))-University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of my study was to investigate an indigenous form of stone play as a projection medium in child psychological assessment. My theoretical framework was grounded in indigenous psychology. My literature study consulted theory relating to indigenous psychology, indigenous knowledge, play, assessment, asset-based approach and positive psychology. I followed a qualitative research approach, guided by an interpretivist epistemology. I employed an intrinsic case study design and purposefully selected the participant. My data collection methods consisted of interviews with the participant’s mother and observations of the participant during the Masekitlana sessions. I relied on audio-visual methods and a self-reflective journal as methods of data documentation. Six main themes emerged as the result of thematic analysis and interpretation that I have completed. Firstly, I found that during the Masekitlana sessions, the participant mentioned a desire or a huge need for food. Secondly, the participant also experienced conflict in the neighbourhood as a result of living conditions and poverty. This included experiences of peer conflict as well as indirect conflict among adults in the community. Thirdly, environmental factors in the informal settlement came to the foreground, like infrastructure, water supply and housing. In the fourth instance the participant expressed her daily routine of bathing, going to school, doing school work and going home. Fifthly, the participant projected her belief system by mentioning indigenous concepts, such as ‘Naka’ which refers to a sangoma (traditional healer). Lastly positive qualities within the participant are identified as a theme. Masekitlana poses to be a valid projection medium to conduct a psychological assessment with the participant because it provides an authentic psychological image. The standardization of Masekitlana as an assessment medium is suggested. Further research to develop psychological assessment media for children from African origin and culture is needed in South Africa. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities are being diagnosed with schizophrenia at significantly higher rates than majority groups all around the world. Aetiological literature reveals a wide range of causal explanations including biogenetic, social and cultural factors. A major limitation of this body of research is the assumption of schizophrenia as a universal syndrome. When viewed through an indigenous lens, experiences labelled schizophrenic by Western psychiatry have been found to vary from culture to culture in terms of content, meaning and outcome. The current project aimed to investigate Māori ways of understanding experiences commonly labelled ‘schizophrenic’. The philosophical frameworks that guided the research were Kaupapa Māori Theory and Personal Construct Theory. A qualitative approach was used and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 57 participants including tangata whaiora (service users), tohunga (traditional healers), kaumatua/kuia (elders), Pākehā clinicians, Māori clinicians, cultural support workers and students. Four categories were derived from qualitative thematic analysis. These being: making sense of the experiences, pathways of healing, making sense of the statistics and what can we do about the statistics. Overall, Māori constructions related to other indigenous constructions of mental illness and wellbeing cited in the international literature but were in stark contrast to current psychiatric constructions. The current project indicated Māori participants held multiple explanatory models for extra-ordinary experiences with the predominant explanations being spiritual. Other explanations included psychosocial constructions (trauma and drug abuse), historical trauma (colonisation) and biomedical constructions (chemical brain imbalance). Based on these findings, recommendations for the development of culturally appropriate assessment and treatment processes are presented. Over the last couple of centuries a single paradigm, the medical model, has come to dominate the explanation and treatment of illness in Western society. Via legal and political means, indigenous models of illness and wellness have been wiped out or forced to the margins of many societies. This thesis aims to challenge the dominant medical model that has privileged psychiatric knowledges while suppressing others by repositioning indigenous construction at the centre of the research via a Kaupapa Māori framework. Chapter One aims to deconstruct current medical constructions by presenting psychiatry as a culture in itself as opposed to a discipline dedicated to scientific truths. This chapter posits that the culture of psychiatry has lead many clinicians to suffer from “cultural blindness” when working with indigenous and ethnic minority groups. Chapter One uses the tools of science to question the scientific validity and reliability of the construct “schizophrenia”. I conclude that this construct is “unscientific” in itself. I will also look at three themes highlighted by other researchers regarding the treatment of mental illness throughout Western history: treatments are used as a form of social control; treatments can be dehumanising; and the dominance and power of the medical model to define who and what is considered ill. Chapter One also acknowledges the significant role of the consumer movement in developing more humane treatments. Interactions between culture and psychiatry via colonisation are outlined in Chapter Two. I also critique research that is conducted cross culturally in terms of whether researchers attempt to establish the reliability of universal diagnoses or recognise local and unique constructions. Chapter Two challenges the commonly cited finding of higher rates of schizophrenia for ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples by questioning the validity of foreign cultural constructs to explain indigenous forms of illness. This chapter recognises indigenous and cultural constructions of what psychiatry labels ‘schizophrenic’. To illustrate, three ‘culture bound syndromes’ will be discussed. The development of indigenous psychological paradigms is also presented to position the current research within this wider international movement. Chapter Three summarises Māori constructions of illness and wellness. This chapter predominantly draws from early anthropological literature and subsequent psychological studies to represent the resilience of Māori constructions of experiences commonly labelled schizophrenic. In accordance with the experiences of other indigenous populations, this chapter also recognises the impact of colonisation on Māori beliefs and practices relevant to maintaining wellness. To illustrate the effect of colonisation, disparities in statistics between Māori and non-Māori for admissions and readmissions to inpatients units for psychotic disorders will be discussed. Explanations for these disparities will also be outlined. Within Chapter Three, the resistance and revival of Māori constructions is also recognised as a function of the development of bicultural and Kaupapa Māori Services. Chapter Four, summarises the theoretical orientation of the research. This research is qualitative and assumes a post-modern critical paradigm. Two theoretical frameworks were used within this research (Kaupapa Māori Theory and Personal Construct Theory) to represent the two worlds in which the research was conducted (Indigenous and Western). Chapter Five outlines the methodology by recounting a somewhat layered journey. Within the first section, ‘Who am I’, I have positioned myself by sharing my journey towards conducting this project. The second section, ‘Where did I want to go’, outlines the research aims and process of consultation. The final section summarises ‘What I did’ in terms of qualitative interviews and the process undertaken for interpretation and presentation of the data. Chapter Six presents the results of the research according to the four categories developed from qualitative analysis. These were: ‘Making sense of extra-ordinary experiences’, ‘Pathways of healing’, ‘Making sense of the statistics’ and ‘What can we do about the statistics’. Within this chapter I have attempted to present quotes with as little interpretation as possible (over and above sorting of themes) to allow the reader to make their own interpretations before reading the discussion. Chapter Seven summarises the major findings from each category and relates the results to the national and international literature. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed with recommendations for future research. The limitations and strengths of the research are highlighted and conclusions drawn from the research journey. The plan for dissemination is also presented.

Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities are being diagnosed with schizophrenia at significantly higher rates than majority groups all around the world. Aetiological literature reveals a wide range of causal explanations including biogenetic, social and cultural factors. A major limitation of this body of research is the assumption of schizophrenia as a universal syndrome. When viewed through an indigenous lens, experiences labelled schizophrenic by Western psychiatry have been found to vary from culture to culture in terms of content, meaning and outcome. The current project aimed to investigate Māori ways of understanding experiences commonly labelled ‘schizophrenic’. The philosophical frameworks that guided the research were Kaupapa Māori Theory and Personal Construct Theory. A qualitative approach was used and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 57 participants including tangata whaiora (service users), tohunga (traditional healers), kaumatua/kuia (elders), Pākehā clinicians, Māori clinicians, cultural support workers and students. Four categories were derived from qualitative thematic analysis. These being: making sense of the experiences, pathways of healing, making sense of the statistics and what can we do about the statistics. Overall, Māori constructions related to other indigenous constructions of mental illness and wellbeing cited in the international literature but were in stark contrast to current psychiatric constructions. The current project indicated Māori participants held multiple explanatory models for extra-ordinary experiences with the predominant explanations being spiritual. Other explanations included psychosocial constructions (trauma and drug abuse), historical trauma (colonisation) and biomedical constructions (chemical brain imbalance). Based on these findings, recommendations for the development of culturally appropriate assessment and treatment processes are presented. Over the last couple of centuries a single paradigm, the medical model, has come to dominate the explanation and treatment of illness in Western society. Via legal and political means, indigenous models of illness and wellness have been wiped out or forced to the margins of many societies. This thesis aims to challenge the dominant medical model that has privileged psychiatric knowledges while suppressing others by repositioning indigenous construction at the centre of the research via a Kaupapa Māori framework. Chapter One aims to deconstruct current medical constructions by presenting psychiatry as a culture in itself as opposed to a discipline dedicated to scientific truths. This chapter posits that the culture of psychiatry has lead many clinicians to suffer from “cultural blindness” when working with indigenous and ethnic minority groups. Chapter One uses the tools of science to question the scientific validity and reliability of the construct “schizophrenia”. I conclude that this construct is “unscientific” in itself. I will also look at three themes highlighted by other researchers regarding the treatment of mental illness throughout Western history: treatments are used as a form of social control; treatments can be dehumanising; and the dominance and power of the medical model to define who and what is considered ill. Chapter One also acknowledges the significant role of the consumer movement in developing more humane treatments. Interactions between culture and psychiatry via colonisation are outlined in Chapter Two. I also critique research that is conducted cross culturally in terms of whether researchers attempt to establish the reliability of universal diagnoses or recognise local and unique constructions. Chapter Two challenges the commonly cited finding of higher rates of schizophrenia for ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples by questioning the validity of foreign cultural constructs to explain indigenous forms of illness. This chapter recognises indigenous and cultural constructions of what psychiatry labels ‘schizophrenic’. To illustrate, three ‘culture bound syndromes’ will be discussed. The development of indigenous psychological paradigms is also presented to position the current research within this wider international movement. Chapter Three summarises Māori constructions of illness and wellness. This chapter predominantly draws from early anthropological literature and subsequent psychological studies to represent the resilience of Māori constructions of experiences commonly labelled schizophrenic. In accordance with the experiences of other indigenous populations, this chapter also recognises the impact of colonisation on Māori beliefs and practices relevant to maintaining wellness. To illustrate the effect of colonisation, disparities in statistics between Māori and non-Māori for admissions and readmissions to inpatients units for psychotic disorders will be discussed. Explanations for these disparities will also be outlined. Within Chapter Three, the resistance and revival of Māori constructions is also recognised as a function of the development of bicultural and Kaupapa Māori Services. Chapter Four, summarises the theoretical orientation of the research. This research is qualitative and assumes a post-modern critical paradigm. Two theoretical frameworks were used within this research (Kaupapa Māori Theory and Personal Construct Theory) to represent the two worlds in which the research was conducted (Indigenous and Western). Chapter Five outlines the methodology by recounting a somewhat layered journey. Within the first section, ‘Who am I’, I have positioned myself by sharing my journey towards conducting this project. The second section, ‘Where did I want to go’, outlines the research aims and process of consultation. The final section summarises ‘What I did’ in terms of qualitative interviews and the process undertaken for interpretation and presentation of the data. Chapter Six presents the results of the research according to the four categories developed from qualitative analysis. These were: ‘Making sense of extra-ordinary experiences’, ‘Pathways of healing’, ‘Making sense of the statistics’ and ‘What can we do about the statistics’. Within this chapter I have attempted to present quotes with as little interpretation as possible (over and above sorting of themes) to allow the reader to make their own interpretations before reading the discussion. Chapter Seven summarises the major findings from each category and relates the results to the national and international literature. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed with recommendations for future research. The limitations and strengths of the research are highlighted and conclusions drawn from the research journey. The plan for dissemination is also presented.

Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities are being diagnosed with schizophrenia at significantly higher rates than majority groups all around the world. Aetiological literature reveals a wide range of causal explanations including biogenetic, social and cultural factors. A major limitation of this body of research is the assumption of schizophrenia as a universal syndrome. When viewed through an indigenous lens, experiences labelled schizophrenic by Western psychiatry have been found to vary from culture to culture in terms of content, meaning and outcome. The current project aimed to investigate Māori ways of understanding experiences commonly labelled ‘schizophrenic’. The philosophical frameworks that guided the research were Kaupapa Māori Theory and Personal Construct Theory. A qualitative approach was used and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 57 participants including tangata whaiora (service users), tohunga (traditional healers), kaumatua/kuia (elders), Pākehā clinicians, Māori clinicians, cultural support workers and students. Four categories were derived from qualitative thematic analysis. These being: making sense of the experiences, pathways of healing, making sense of the statistics and what can we do about the statistics. Overall, Māori constructions related to other indigenous constructions of mental illness and wellbeing cited in the international literature but were in stark contrast to current psychiatric constructions. The current project indicated Māori participants held multiple explanatory models for extra-ordinary experiences with the predominant explanations being spiritual. Other explanations included psychosocial constructions (trauma and drug abuse), historical trauma (colonisation) and biomedical constructions (chemical brain imbalance). Based on these findings, recommendations for the development of culturally appropriate assessment and treatment processes are presented. Over the last couple of centuries a single paradigm, the medical model, has come to dominate the explanation and treatment of illness in Western society. Via legal and political means, indigenous models of illness and wellness have been wiped out or forced to the margins of many societies. This thesis aims to challenge the dominant medical model that has privileged psychiatric knowledges while suppressing others by repositioning indigenous construction at the centre of the research via a Kaupapa Māori framework. Chapter One aims to deconstruct current medical constructions by presenting psychiatry as a culture in itself as opposed to a discipline dedicated to scientific truths. This chapter posits that the culture of psychiatry has lead many clinicians to suffer from “cultural blindness” when working with indigenous and ethnic minority groups. Chapter One uses the tools of science to question the scientific validity and reliability of the construct “schizophrenia”. I conclude that this construct is “unscientific” in itself. I will also look at three themes highlighted by other researchers regarding the treatment of mental illness throughout Western history: treatments are used as a form of social control; treatments can be dehumanising; and the dominance and power of the medical model to define who and what is considered ill. Chapter One also acknowledges the significant role of the consumer movement in developing more humane treatments. Interactions between culture and psychiatry via colonisation are outlined in Chapter Two. I also critique research that is conducted cross culturally in terms of whether researchers attempt to establish the reliability of universal diagnoses or recognise local and unique constructions. Chapter Two challenges the commonly cited finding of higher rates of schizophrenia for ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples by questioning the validity of foreign cultural constructs to explain indigenous forms of illness. This chapter recognises indigenous and cultural constructions of what psychiatry labels ‘schizophrenic’. To illustrate, three ‘culture bound syndromes’ will be discussed. The development of indigenous psychological paradigms is also presented to position the current research within this wider international movement. Chapter Three summarises Māori constructions of illness and wellness. This chapter predominantly draws from early anthropological literature and subsequent psychological studies to represent the resilience of Māori constructions of experiences commonly labelled schizophrenic. In accordance with the experiences of other indigenous populations, this chapter also recognises the impact of colonisation on Māori beliefs and practices relevant to maintaining wellness. To illustrate the effect of colonisation, disparities in statistics between Māori and non-Māori for admissions and readmissions to inpatients units for psychotic disorders will be discussed. Explanations for these disparities will also be outlined. Within Chapter Three, the resistance and revival of Māori constructions is also recognised as a function of the development of bicultural and Kaupapa Māori Services. Chapter Four, summarises the theoretical orientation of the research. This research is qualitative and assumes a post-modern critical paradigm. Two theoretical frameworks were used within this research (Kaupapa Māori Theory and Personal Construct Theory) to represent the two worlds in which the research was conducted (Indigenous and Western). Chapter Five outlines the methodology by recounting a somewhat layered journey. Within the first section, ‘Who am I’, I have positioned myself by sharing my journey towards conducting this project. The second section, ‘Where did I want to go’, outlines the research aims and process of consultation. The final section summarises ‘What I did’ in terms of qualitative interviews and the process undertaken for interpretation and presentation of the data. Chapter Six presents the results of the research according to the four categories developed from qualitative analysis. These were: ‘Making sense of extra-ordinary experiences’, ‘Pathways of healing’, ‘Making sense of the statistics’ and ‘What can we do about the statistics’. Within this chapter I have attempted to present quotes with as little interpretation as possible (over and above sorting of themes) to allow the reader to make their own interpretations before reading the discussion. Chapter Seven summarises the major findings from each category and relates the results to the national and international literature. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed with recommendations for future research. The limitations and strengths of the research are highlighted and conclusions drawn from the research journey. The plan for dissemination is also presented.

Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities are being diagnosed with schizophrenia at significantly higher rates than majority groups all around the world. Aetiological literature reveals a wide range of causal explanations including biogenetic, social and cultural factors. A major limitation of this body of research is the assumption of schizophrenia as a universal syndrome. When viewed through an indigenous lens, experiences labelled schizophrenic by Western psychiatry have been found to vary from culture to culture in terms of content, meaning and outcome. The current project aimed to investigate Māori ways of understanding experiences commonly labelled ‘schizophrenic’. The philosophical frameworks that guided the research were Kaupapa Māori Theory and Personal Construct Theory. A qualitative approach was used and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 57 participants including tangata whaiora (service users), tohunga (traditional healers), kaumatua/kuia (elders), Pākehā clinicians, Māori clinicians, cultural support workers and students. Four categories were derived from qualitative thematic analysis. These being: making sense of the experiences, pathways of healing, making sense of the statistics and what can we do about the statistics. Overall, Māori constructions related to other indigenous constructions of mental illness and wellbeing cited in the international literature but were in stark contrast to current psychiatric constructions. The current project indicated Māori participants held multiple explanatory models for extra-ordinary experiences with the predominant explanations being spiritual. Other explanations included psychosocial constructions (trauma and drug abuse), historical trauma (colonisation) and biomedical constructions (chemical brain imbalance). Based on these findings, recommendations for the development of culturally appropriate assessment and treatment processes are presented. Over the last couple of centuries a single paradigm, the medical model, has come to dominate the explanation and treatment of illness in Western society. Via legal and political means, indigenous models of illness and wellness have been wiped out or forced to the margins of many societies. This thesis aims to challenge the dominant medical model that has privileged psychiatric knowledges while suppressing others by repositioning indigenous construction at the centre of the research via a Kaupapa Māori framework. Chapter One aims to deconstruct current medical constructions by presenting psychiatry as a culture in itself as opposed to a discipline dedicated to scientific truths. This chapter posits that the culture of psychiatry has lead many clinicians to suffer from “cultural blindness” when working with indigenous and ethnic minority groups. Chapter One uses the tools of science to question the scientific validity and reliability of the construct “schizophrenia”. I conclude that this construct is “unscientific” in itself. I will also look at three themes highlighted by other researchers regarding the treatment of mental illness throughout Western history: treatments are used as a form of social control; treatments can be dehumanising; and the dominance and power of the medical model to define who and what is considered ill. Chapter One also acknowledges the significant role of the consumer movement in developing more humane treatments. Interactions between culture and psychiatry via colonisation are outlined in Chapter Two. I also critique research that is conducted cross culturally in terms of whether researchers attempt to establish the reliability of universal diagnoses or recognise local and unique constructions. Chapter Two challenges the commonly cited finding of higher rates of schizophrenia for ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples by questioning the validity of foreign cultural constructs to explain indigenous forms of illness. This chapter recognises indigenous and cultural constructions of what psychiatry labels ‘schizophrenic’. To illustrate, three ‘culture bound syndromes’ will be discussed. The development of indigenous psychological paradigms is also presented to position the current research within this wider international movement. Chapter Three summarises Māori constructions of illness and wellness. This chapter predominantly draws from early anthropological literature and subsequent psychological studies to represent the resilience of Māori constructions of experiences commonly labelled schizophrenic. In accordance with the experiences of other indigenous populations, this chapter also recognises the impact of colonisation on Māori beliefs and practices relevant to maintaining wellness. To illustrate the effect of colonisation, disparities in statistics between Māori and non-Māori for admissions and readmissions to inpatients units for psychotic disorders will be discussed. Explanations for these disparities will also be outlined. Within Chapter Three, the resistance and revival of Māori constructions is also recognised as a function of the development of bicultural and Kaupapa Māori Services. Chapter Four, summarises the theoretical orientation of the research. This research is qualitative and assumes a post-modern critical paradigm. Two theoretical frameworks were used within this research (Kaupapa Māori Theory and Personal Construct Theory) to represent the two worlds in which the research was conducted (Indigenous and Western). Chapter Five outlines the methodology by recounting a somewhat layered journey. Within the first section, ‘Who am I’, I have positioned myself by sharing my journey towards conducting this project. The second section, ‘Where did I want to go’, outlines the research aims and process of consultation. The final section summarises ‘What I did’ in terms of qualitative interviews and the process undertaken for interpretation and presentation of the data. Chapter Six presents the results of the research according to the four categories developed from qualitative analysis. These were: ‘Making sense of extra-ordinary experiences’, ‘Pathways of healing’, ‘Making sense of the statistics’ and ‘What can we do about the statistics’. Within this chapter I have attempted to present quotes with as little interpretation as possible (over and above sorting of themes) to allow the reader to make their own interpretations before reading the discussion. Chapter Seven summarises the major findings from each category and relates the results to the national and international literature. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed with recommendations for future research. The limitations and strengths of the research are highlighted and conclusions drawn from the research journey. The plan for dissemination is also presented.

Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities are being diagnosed with schizophrenia at significantly higher rates than majority groups all around the world. Aetiological literature reveals a wide range of causal explanations including biogenetic, social and cultural factors. A major limitation of this body of research is the assumption of schizophrenia as a universal syndrome. When viewed through an indigenous lens, experiences labelled schizophrenic by Western psychiatry have been found to vary from culture to culture in terms of content, meaning and outcome. The current project aimed to investigate Māori ways of understanding experiences commonly labelled ‘schizophrenic’. The philosophical frameworks that guided the research were Kaupapa Māori Theory and Personal Construct Theory. A qualitative approach was used and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 57 participants including tangata whaiora (service users), tohunga (traditional healers), kaumatua/kuia (elders), Pākehā clinicians, Māori clinicians, cultural support workers and students. Four categories were derived from qualitative thematic analysis. These being: making sense of the experiences, pathways of healing, making sense of the statistics and what can we do about the statistics. Overall, Māori constructions related to other indigenous constructions of mental illness and wellbeing cited in the international literature but were in stark contrast to current psychiatric constructions. The current project indicated Māori participants held multiple explanatory models for extra-ordinary experiences with the predominant explanations being spiritual. Other explanations included psychosocial constructions (trauma and drug abuse), historical trauma (colonisation) and biomedical constructions (chemical brain imbalance). Based on these findings, recommendations for the development of culturally appropriate assessment and treatment processes are presented. Over the last couple of centuries a single paradigm, the medical model, has come to dominate the explanation and treatment of illness in Western society. Via legal and political means, indigenous models of illness and wellness have been wiped out or forced to the margins of many societies. This thesis aims to challenge the dominant medical model that has privileged psychiatric knowledges while suppressing others by repositioning indigenous construction at the centre of the research via a Kaupapa Māori framework. Chapter One aims to deconstruct current medical constructions by presenting psychiatry as a culture in itself as opposed to a discipline dedicated to scientific truths. This chapter posits that the culture of psychiatry has lead many clinicians to suffer from “cultural blindness” when working with indigenous and ethnic minority groups. Chapter One uses the tools of science to question the scientific validity and reliability of the construct “schizophrenia”. I conclude that this construct is “unscientific” in itself. I will also look at three themes highlighted by other researchers regarding the treatment of mental illness throughout Western history: treatments are used as a form of social control; treatments can be dehumanising; and the dominance and power of the medical model to define who and what is considered ill. Chapter One also acknowledges the significant role of the consumer movement in developing more humane treatments. Interactions between culture and psychiatry via colonisation are outlined in Chapter Two. I also critique research that is conducted cross culturally in terms of whether researchers attempt to establish the reliability of universal diagnoses or recognise local and unique constructions. Chapter Two challenges the commonly cited finding of higher rates of schizophrenia for ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples by questioning the validity of foreign cultural constructs to explain indigenous forms of illness. This chapter recognises indigenous and cultural constructions of what psychiatry labels ‘schizophrenic’. To illustrate, three ‘culture bound syndromes’ will be discussed. The development of indigenous psychological paradigms is also presented to position the current research within this wider international movement. Chapter Three summarises Māori constructions of illness and wellness. This chapter predominantly draws from early anthropological literature and subsequent psychological studies to represent the resilience of Māori constructions of experiences commonly labelled schizophrenic. In accordance with the experiences of other indigenous populations, this chapter also recognises the impact of colonisation on Māori beliefs and practices relevant to maintaining wellness. To illustrate the effect of colonisation, disparities in statistics between Māori and non-Māori for admissions and readmissions to inpatients units for psychotic disorders will be discussed. Explanations for these disparities will also be outlined. Within Chapter Three, the resistance and revival of Māori constructions is also recognised as a function of the development of bicultural and Kaupapa Māori Services. Chapter Four, summarises the theoretical orientation of the research. This research is qualitative and assumes a post-modern critical paradigm. Two theoretical frameworks were used within this research (Kaupapa Māori Theory and Personal Construct Theory) to represent the two worlds in which the research was conducted (Indigenous and Western). Chapter Five outlines the methodology by recounting a somewhat layered journey. Within the first section, ‘Who am I’, I have positioned myself by sharing my journey towards conducting this project. The second section, ‘Where did I want to go’, outlines the research aims and process of consultation. The final section summarises ‘What I did’ in terms of qualitative interviews and the process undertaken for interpretation and presentation of the data. Chapter Six presents the results of the research according to the four categories developed from qualitative analysis. These were: ‘Making sense of extra-ordinary experiences’, ‘Pathways of healing’, ‘Making sense of the statistics’ and ‘What can we do about the statistics’. Within this chapter I have attempted to present quotes with as little interpretation as possible (over and above sorting of themes) to allow the reader to make their own interpretations before reading the discussion. Chapter Seven summarises the major findings from each category and relates the results to the national and international literature. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed with recommendations for future research. The limitations and strengths of the research are highlighted and conclusions drawn from the research journey. The plan for dissemination is also presented.