PhD (University of Auckland)

Although sexual violence trauma is a significant health issue for peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand, relatively few Pacific/Pasifika survivors of sexual violence currently access counselling. Addressing the needs of Pacific survivors of sexual violence trauma effectively requires culturally appropriate, trauma-informed approaches in talking therapies such as counselling and psychotherapy. However, New Zealand lacks models for counselling Pacific/Pasifika survivors of sexual violence informed by Indigenous Pacific knowledge and world views. To address this need, the current study aimed to develop a therapeutic model for use with Pacific survivors of sexual violence trauma—informed by the clinical, cultural, and lived experiences of Pacific counsellors and psychotherapists. Participants in this qualitative study were 14 Pacific female professionally accredited counsellors and psychotherapists with experience working with Pacific clients who have experienced sexual violence. Framed within Pacific methodologies, data for the study were generated from individual and group talanoa and analysed and interpreted using constructivist grounded theory and perspectives grounded in Pacific talanoa knowledge and world views. A formative Pacific Indigenous counselling (PIC) model interweaving Fonofale (Pulotu-Endemann, 2001) and Teu le vā (Anae, 2005) developed for generic counselling (McRobie, 2015) was expanded for application to sexual violence trauma in this study. E fofō e le alamea le alamea is an Indigenous Samoan proverb that describes how the remedy for the toxic sting of the alamea (crown-of-thorns starfish) can be found in the starfish itself. The proverb suggests that the solutions for issues affecting Pacific communities can be found within those communities (Tofaeono, 2016). The model developed in this study is consistent with this belief. It is grounded in the understanding that solutions for engaging and healing Pacific survivors of sexual violence trauma lie within the community, where there is collective, spiritual, and cultural knowledge of Indigenous healing and resilience. The Niu-PIC model foregrounds this Pacific knowledge while drawing on fundamental principles and practices from trauma-informed therapy. As such, the study and model make an essential contribution to the relatively slender body of Indigenous-informed research, resources, and models available to Pacific and non-Pacific practitioners working with sexual violence survivors within Pacific communities. (Author's abstract). Record #8998