Dr Pikihuia Pomare

I am an Associate Professor of Kaupapa Māori Psychology and a Clinical Psychologist. My research is grounded in mātauranga Māori and Indigenous Psychologies, with a focus on rongoā Māori and te taiao (traditional healing, the natural environment), wairuatanga and spirituality, Māori mental health, and child and youth mental health, including digital technologies. In 2021, I received the Erihapeti Rehu-Murchie Fellowship (Health Research Council of New Zealand) for a 4.5-year project, Mauri Tau, which examines mauri tau as a Māori framework for wellbeing and emotion regulation.

Research Portfolio:

• Principal Investigator - Erihapeti Rehu-Murchie Fellowship, Health Research Council New Zealand, 'Mauri Tau: Indigenous Psychological and Therapeutic Approaches to Mental Health' (2021-2026).
• Co-Principal Investigator - Tau ana te ora - Karakia pathways to wellbeing, Health Research Council New Zealand (2025-2027).
• Associate Investigator - Taura Here Tangata: The Braided threads that bind us, a trans-Pacific multidisciplinary research project alongside Māori, Ecuadorian and Colombian experts to connect Mātauranga Māori and Indigenous ecopsychologies led by Dr Lorena de la Torre Parra, Royal Society of New Zealand Catalyst Grant. (2024-2026).

Completed Projects:

• Associate Investigator - Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Funded project 'Ka Hao te Rangatahi: Fishing with a New Net? Rethinking Responsibility for Youth Mental Health in the Digital Age' (2020-2023) 
• Associate Investigator - MBIE Biological Heritage National Science Challenge. 'He Taonga Kē Te Ngahere' - Mobilising for Action theme of the Ngā Rākau Taketake investment stream (2020-2023) 
• Associate Investigator - Interpretation of anomalous experiences: Implications for wāhine Māori
  Health Research Council New Zealand, Explorer Grant (2019-2022)

Prior to my current position at Massey University, I worked as a registered Clinical Psychologist with adults in a Māori Mental Health Service at Waitematā District Health Board. I have also worked with children, adolescents, and whānau in a specialist Māori clinical team within the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service at Counties Manukau District Health Board.

I have over 20 years of experience in the education and health sectors and have held a number of clinical, leadership, and advisory positions at regional and national levels. I was the Bicultural Co-Director of the New Zealand Psychological Society on the governance executive from 2019 to 2022.

In 2015, I completed a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Auckland. I held an academic position in the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland from 2007 to 2010, lecturing in undergraduate and postgraduate courses and co-ordinating the Tuākana Psychology Programme, the Māori and Pacific Staff Committee, and the Māori and Pacific Psychology Postgraduate Research Group (MPRG).

I am a proud raukura (graduate) of Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Māori (Māori immersion schooling).