Stephen Lang

Citation

Thesis Title
Bicultural responsiveness in Aotearoa New Zealand: An immigrant counsellor's experience

Read article at Massey Research Online:

Mr Lang investigated how non-Maori counsellors in Aotearoa New Zealand respond to the call by Maori for non-Maori to honour and respect the indigenous culture. Motivated by a request from The Right Honourable Pita Sharples for counsellors to develop their bicultural responsiveness, Mr Lang, as an immigrant counsellor, turned the focus onto his own response to this call, and produced this auto ethnographic research. He found that the development of bicultural responsiveness was slow, and prone to relapse, though gains have been made. Non-Maori through engagement with Maori, need to be willing to acknowledge mistakes, make amends, and become wiser in the process. The requirement by the New Zealand Association for Counsellors – Te Roopu Kaiwhiriwhiri o Aotearoa, for all counsellors to engage in bicultural consultation will provide increased opportunities for interaction. Such dialogue can lead to the refocusing of counselling to help achieve holistic forms of well-being typified by hauora.

Supervisors
Dr Marg Gilling
Professor Chris Cunningham
Mr Herman Clark
Associate Professor Jeannie Wright