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February 19, 2026
#hauora: Hinemoa Elder calls for culturally grounded mental health care in challenging times
Dale Husband
Posted On February 19, 2026
Download AudioPsychiatrist, author and long-time advocate for Māori approaches to wellbeing Dr Hinemoa Elder says Aotearoa is facing one of the most testing periods in recent memory, and the mental health system is struggling to keep pace with rising demand.
Describing the current climate as deeply challenging, Elder points to mounting pressures driven by cost-of-living stress, climate events, social disconnection and uncertainty about the future. She says these factors are intensifying anxiety, depression and trauma across communities.
Gaps in the system
Among the most pressing concerns are long wait times, workforce shortages and limited access to culturally appropriate care. Elder notes that specialist services remain stretched, particularly in rural and Māori communities, where access barriers are already entrenched.
She highlights fragmentation between primary care, community services and specialist mental health teams as a persistent weakness. For many whānau, navigating referrals and eligibility criteria can be exhausting, especially when support is needed urgently.
The system, she argues, remains too crisis-driven, responding after distress escalates rather than intervening early.
Māori knowledge systems as protective strength
Elder says Māori knowledge systems offer practical and protective pathways for navigating stress and uncertainty. Concepts grounded in whakapapa, whanaungatanga and collective identity provide frameworks that strengthen belonging and resilience.
Rather than focusing solely on individual pathology, Indigenous approaches centre relational wellbeing – linking mental health to land, language, community and spiritual balance. This holistic lens can help people interpret hardship within a broader narrative of continuity and survival.
Embedding tikanga-informed practices within mainstream services, she says, would improve both accessibility and outcomes for Māori and non-Māori alike.
Practical changes needed now
While structural reform takes time, Elder identifies immediate steps that could make a tangible difference. Expanding community-based services, increasing funding for kaupapa Māori providers and reducing administrative barriers to care are among them.
Early intervention programmes in schools and workplaces could reduce pressure on specialist services. Strengthening partnerships between general practitioners and community mental health teams would also streamline pathways into care.
Workforce development remains critical. Supporting and training more Māori clinicians, counsellors and peer-support workers would enhance cultural safety and responsiveness.
Everyday supports beyond clinics
Elder emphasises that mental wellbeing is not sustained by clinical care alone. Everyday supports – marae-based gatherings, creative arts, sport, connection to whenua and cultural practices – can all reinforce emotional resilience.
Community spaces where people feel seen and understood provide protective buffers against isolation. Storytelling, music, kapa haka and collective ritual are not peripheral activities but core wellbeing practices within te ao Māori.
In times of uncertainty, strengthening these networks of connection can be as vital as formal therapy.
A call for accessible care
As demand continues to rise, Elder says the priority must be ensuring mental health care is accessible, culturally grounded and preventative rather than reactive.
For Aotearoa to navigate what she describes as extremely trying times, she believes investment must extend beyond hospital settings and into the cultural, communal and relational spaces where wellbeing is nurtured every day.
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