Glossary
The following descriptions have been taken from a variety of sources and are not meant to be definitive. Language evolves and terms can quickly become outdated. The key terms are based on feedback from a wide range of stakeholders.
Language resources that support with understanding of te reo Māori include Te Reo Hāpai: The Language of Enrichment (Opai, 2017) and Te Aka Māori Dictionary (Moorfield, 2011).
| Aroha | Love, compassion, empathy, sympathy, kindness. |
| Asian | Asian people in Aotearoa represent many diverse ethnic identities, cultures, languages, religions, and migration backgrounds. People who identify as Asian can include recent migrants, well-established migrants, Asian people born in Aotearoa, refugees, and asylum seekers. Refer to Stats NZ’s ethnicity classification for the list of regions and countries that define the Asian population (Stats NZ, 2020). |
| Associative stigma | Stigma experienced by whānau and others who are associated with a person experiencing addiction and/or mental health challenges. |
| Awa | River, stream, creek. |
| Community | The groups that people identify and associate with; the many places in which people live. |
| CPSLE | Acronym referring to the consumer, peer support and lived-experience workforce. |
| Culture | The shared attitudes, beliefs, values, experiences, and/or practice of groups. |
| Cultural safety | Cultural safety is an approach that acknowledges, respects, and values the cultural identities and experiences of tāngata whai ora while addressing power imbalances in relationships. The approach is focused on how care is received by tāngata whai ora, ensuring their dignity and rights are upheld. Cultural safety requires that kaimahi and services:
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| Evidence-based practice | Integration of the following:
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| Gender-affirming practices | Refers to any practices that affirm and/or support an individual's gender. This can include transition-related healthcare (such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, laser hair removal, and surgeries), as well as therapy that supports people through the process of transition. Gender-affirming practices can be important for anyone but are most often discussed in the context of transgender people. |
| Hapū | Kinship group, clan, grouping of various whānau generally based on a shared ancestor. |
| Hapori | Section of a kinship group, family, society, community. |
| Hauora | Health, vigour, including hauora tinana (physical health), hauora hinengaro (mental and emotional health), whānau (social wellbeing), and wairua (spiritual health). |
| Interpreter | A person whose role is to provide a translation between two (or more) speakers, either orally or via sign language. |
| Intersectionality | An analysis of oppression, discrimination, and privilege which states that oppressions based on different social categories (such as sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, disability, education, age, and class) are interlinked in ways that are unique, and therefore cannot be addressed separately from one another. |
| Iwi | Extended kinship group, nation, people, grouping of various hapū generally based on a shared ancestor. |
| Kaimahi | Worker, staff, employee. |
| Karakia | Prayer, incantation, blessing, clearing, spiritual acknowledgement. |
| Kaumātua | General term for an elder of mana within the community, whānau, or marae. |
| Kotahitanga | Unity, togetherness, or solidarity, emphasising the importance of collective action, shared purpose, and collaboration among individuals, groups, or communities to achieve a common goal. |
| Mana | Often defined as prestige, authority, control, power, influence, status, spiritual power, charisma or status and standing; mana may be accorded a person or group through ancestral descent, and through possession of certain gifts or achievements, and can be enhanced through the collective opinion of others. |
| Manaaki | To support, take care of, extend hospitality, protect, show generosity, care for. |
| Mana motuhake | Self-governance, self-determination, independence, autonomy. |
| Mana whenua | The customary authority exercised by the tāngata whenua in an identified area; another term for local people (tāngata whenua). |
| Mātauranga Māori | The body of knowledge originating from Māori ancestors, including the Māori world view and perspectives, Māori creativity and cultural practices. |
| Maunga | Mountain, mount, hill – about the mana and history of a mountain or hillock as opposed to its size. |
| Moana | Sea, ocean, large lake. |
| Ngahere | Bush, forest, woodland. |
| Nō hea koe? | Where do you come from? |
| Ōritetanga | Equity. |
| Oranga | Health, welfare, sustenance. |
| Pacific peoples | A collective for the diverse cultures of people from Polynesian, Melanesian, and Micronesian countries. The terms Pasifika and Pasefika are also used to describe people living in Aotearoa who have migrated from Pacific countries or people born in Aotearoa who identify with a Pacific ancestry or heritage (Ministry for Pacific Peoples, 2021). |
| Professional development | The process of increasing capability in relation to work; can apply to kaimahi, students, and volunteers. |
| Recovery | A process of change through which people improve their health and wellbeing, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential (SAMHSA, 2012). |
| Self-stigma | Internalised feelings of shame, low self-esteem, and low self-efficacy; a stigmatised person internalises negative societal beliefs and feelings and the social devaluation attached to their stigmatised status. |
| Social inclusion | Recognition of a person as equal to others, with the right to participate in and contribute to all aspects of social, cultural, and economic life. It is a fundamental right and implies full participation without constraints or conditions placed on a person’s status. Socially inclusive practice aims to improve the ability of people with mental health and addiction needs to participate in and contribute to key areas of economic, social, and cultural life as they choose to do so and without constraint. |
| Supported decision-making | An approach that uses resources (such as nominated support person, peer support, personal advocate) to empower and enable people to make their own decisions based on their will and preferences. Different levels of support are provided, depending on need. The approach recognises and responds to the values, beliefs, cultures, and languages of tāngata whai ora and whānau. For example, it includes collective decision-making approaches (such as decision-making with whānau) informed by tikanga Māori and grounded in te ao Māori (Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, 2023). |
| Tāngata whai ora | People accessing services seeking wellbeing. |
| Tāngata whaikaha | People with disabilities (from Te Reo Hāpai) |
| Tāngata whenua | Indigenous people, local people. |
| Tātai | Establishing links. |
| Te ao Māori | The Māori world, including te reo, tikanga, marae (community focal points), wāhi tapu (sites of sacred significance) and access to whānau, hapū, and iwi. |
| Te reo Māori | Māori language. |
| Te Tiriti o Waitangi | The founding treaty document of Aotearoa New Zealand that states rights and responsibilities agreed between the Crown and Māori. |
| Tikanga Māori | Correct Māori procedure, custom, practice, protocol. |
| Tino rangatiratanga | Sovereignty, self-determination, autonomy, self-government. |
| Trauma-informed approach | A term used to describe a programme, organisation or system that:
A trauma-informed approach can be implemented in any service setting or organisation and is distinct from trauma-specific interventions or treatments that are designed specifically to address the consequences of trauma and to facilitate healing. |
| Tuakiri tangata | Persona, personality, identity. |
| Values-informed practice | An approach that recognises the impact of values, including the values of tāngata whai ora, practitioners and organisations; an understanding of how to work with values more effectively for better outcomes. |
| Vicarious trauma | The cumulative impact of prolonged exposure to the trauma of other people, resulting in negative shifts in an individual’s personal beliefs, world view, attitude, and sense of safety. |
| Waiata | Song, chant, to sing. |
| Wānanga | Māori learning experience, seminar, conference, forum, educational seminar. |
| Wellbeing | All dimensions of health: tinana (physical), hinengaro (mental and emotional), whānau (social), and wairua (spiritual). |
| Whakapapa | Genealogy, lineage, descent, blood ties. |
| Whakawhanaunga | Forging relationships, getting to know one another, exploring mutual whakapapa connections. |
| Whānau | An inclusive term for family and wider family structures and anyone who a person considers to be close to them and important in their life. |
| Whānau Māori | Whānau as it pertains to Māori family and identity. |
| Whānau ora | The achievement of maximum health and wellbeing among whānau Māori. |
| Whanaungatanga | The process of establishing and/or maintaining links and relationships; the feeling of having familial ties. |
| Whenua | Land. |