The Potential Role of Applied Behavior Analysis in the Cultural Environment of Māori Mental Health

Significant mental health disparity exists in Aotearoa New Zealand between Māori and the non-Māori majority. Although much has been written about mental health and the cultural competence of health professionals, cultural context has not been specifically considered within the behavioral paradigm, and it was placed in the center of practice in multicultural societies by the behavioral community only recently. In this article, we discuss some of the problems encountered by Māori in the mental health system and the role of behavior analysts in addressing the divide in service provision. Dialogue with other disciplines that investigate the importance of indigenous cultural values is necessary. We conclude with some suggestions about strategies that may be implemented across services by behavior analysts in order to improve mental health outcomes for Māori.