New Zealand is a culturally diverse country where everyone is treated equally.  It is vital to be culturally responsible while working and during practice, in a country like New Zealand where there is an indigenous community living. The M?ori people are considered to be a vital community in New Zealand and others are required to respect their beliefs, culture, and traditions.

Here is an insight into how to follow culturally responsive practice as a psychologist in New Zealand.

M?ori health

The health status of M?ori is a documented concern of the government of New Zealand, health professionals, and the M?ori community. There is historic evidence with regard to the negligence of the health of M?ori people. The objective of the government is to provide this community with access to quality healthcare and uplift their lifestyle.

Until the recent past, M?ori people have been passive consumers of health services in New Zealand, and have had little input into it. The health department of the country has identified the seriousness of the issue and the need to address the disparities that exist. Psychologists work in all the focus areas in which the M?ori people are subject to disparities, injustice, and other negative outcomes, in terms of employment, educational outcomes, child and family welfare, and more.

Introduction to standards of cultural competence

The New Zealand Psychologists Board governs the policies and procedures related to the practice of registered psychologists by setting and monitoring the required competencies and standards for registration and practice. It ensures that the New Zealand public is cared for in a safe and competent manner.

The code of ethics for Psychologists in New Zealand refers to the centrality of the Treaty of Waitangi and the importance and relevance of respecting the dignity of all communities.

The standards of cultural competence are for psychologists that have been registered under the Health Competence Assurance Act (2003) and for all those who are seeking to become registered as a psychologist in New Zealand.

The Treaty of Waitangi

The following are the strategies that the New Zealand Psychologists Board recognizes when working with the M?ori community:

The New Zealand government gives a special place to the M?ori community, and the Treaty of Waitangi is the country’s founding document.

Securing the Treaty’s place within the healthcare sector is crucial to the improvement of M?ori health.

The Treaty of Waitangi document refers to the obligations that psychology education and training providers to form partnerships with the M?ori. It also does it to evaluate the response of the New Zealand Psychologists Board and education providers to the Treaty of Waitangi.

Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi document consists of the following principles:

Principle One

Principle one enables and focuses on the self-determination of M?ori people over their health. It recognizes the right to manage the community’s interest by enabling M?ori autonomy over health and accepting their control and ownership over knowledge and customs.

Principle Two

Principle two focuses on psychologists working together with the M?ori community to improve health outcomes for M?ori people.

Principle Three

Principle three is about psychologists recognizing the value that M?ori people put on their health and working towards protecting it in many ways, including promoting a supportive and responsive environment.

Principle Four

Principle four is about psychologists recognizing the rights of M?ori people with regard to their participation in health-related services. This leads to pursuit of equality in health results.

Psychologists have a responsibility to respond to the health of M?ori people by improving the mental health services provided to them.

Cultural safety and M?ori wellbeing

Psychologists often work with the realities of people at a social level. Cultural safety is that everyone must receive psychological services that realize each person’s individuality. It relates to the recipient of psychological services and goes beyond cultural awareness. It provides the recipients of these services the power to comment on the quality of service and contribute towards achieving positive outcomes.

The New Zealand Psychologists Board is strictly against unsafe cultural practices that consist of any means of diminishing the cultural identity and well-being of any individual or his family.

Cultural safety education

The essence of cultural safety in psychology education goes beyond the simple description of cultural practices, values, and beliefs of different ethnic groups. It is focused on the knowledge, kills, and understanding of the psychologist regardless of which ethnic group or culture the individual belongs to.

The journey toward achieving culturally responsive practices in psychology focuses on the following three aspects:

• Cultural awareness
• Cultural sensitivity
• Cultural safety

Cultural safety principles

Cultural safety is supported by communication and recognition of the diversity within the population and the acceptance of the existence of different communities within it. It is the result of psychology education the paves way for a safe and acceptable service as defined by recipients.

It aims at improving the health condition and well-being of New Zealanders about all relationships. It means the acceptance and acknowledgment of the psychologist in relation to different beliefs and practices that may differ from him.

Cultural safety also focuses on providing high-quality services to enhance the delivery of disability and psychological practices through a culturally safe psychology workforce.

Definition of cultural safety

Cultural safety is the effective psychological knowledge and practice that applies to a person or a group of people. It includes age, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and occupation. Psychologists delivering mental health services must reflect their own cultural identity, beliefs, and values, and not let these affect the outcome.

The code of ethics for psychologists working in New Zealand explicitly recognizes factors relating to the relationship between M?ori people and others.

Cultural safety guidelines

The Nursing Council is the starting point of the use of cultural safety guidelines by medical and healthcare professionals. It relates to the experience of the people that are receiving psychological services and extends beyond cultural sensitivity.

Cultural competence

Cultural competence is having the knowledge, awareness, and skills that are required to perform a range of mental health services that recognizes the practices of an individual and of clients from various ethnic backgrounds.

It is focused on understanding the influence that cultural, social, historical, and political aspects have on an individual’s health status. Cultural competence also includes the knowledge and appreciation of the cultural aspects of psychological theories and practices, and dedication to change practice accordingly.

Awareness and knowledge

Awareness

Awareness of a person’s own and client’s cultural and ethnical background, gender, sexual orientation, organizational affiliation, and disability to form personal values, ideas, and judgments.

Knowledge

Knowledge of psychological theories, methodologies, and professional practices are culturally and historically embedded, and how they have changed over time. It also focuses on knowledge on culture-specific diagnostic types, and specifically the risks of using psychometric tests on populations that vary from the normative group.

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