Treatment Uses Best Of Both Worlds

MEDIA RELEASE CUTTING EDGE CONFERENCE

Drug And Alcohol Treatment Uses “Best Of Both Worlds”

Drug and alcohol treatment for Māori is increasingly combining both research-based clinical therapy with cultural approaches, the Cutting Edge conference heard today. About 380 people are attending Cutting Edge, the annual national conference for the addiction treatment sector, which is taking place at Te Papa, Wellington, from 10-11 September.

A number of conference speakers have detailed how the two approaches can work together to support addiction recovery in Māori and other people. One such approach to treating young people’s drug and alcohol problems, which is proving to be effective, is offered by the Central Health (Te Whatuiapiti Trust) in Palmerston North.

The Trust runs the only indigenous service in the world offering Multisystemic Therapy (MST) to treat young people with drug and alcohol problems. MST is an intensive family- and community-based treatment approach utilising evidence-based treatment methods.

Speaking at the conference, Service Manager Danelle Keith said the service utilised the “best of both worlds – the Western World and Te Ao Māori (the Māori World).”

Ms Keith said the service worked with families for up to 20 weeks intensively, with multiple visits per week, to effect change quickly.

“There is over 25 years of scientific research which supports the effectiveness of MST with young people who have anti-social behaviours.

“Young People do not need to consent to have us involved. Consent is gained from the family as the majority of our work will be with the family. We work flexibly to remove all barriers to access for whānau. We work flexible hours, at times when families can see us, and we provide a 24/7 on-call service. All treatment provided is home based, there is no office for families to attend.”

“MST has proven to be effective in Aotearoa across all cultures including Māori. The underlying philosophies of MST resonate harmoniously with Te Ao Māori values and beliefs.”

Other speakers to examine treatment which combines research-based clinical therapy with cultural approaches include:

• Keynote speaker Steve Onken, from Hawaii, who is speaking about bringing together indigenous approaches to recovery with research-based Western practice.

• Rawiri Evans, from the Ministry of Health, whose presentation examines the connections between cultural and clinical modes of delivery.

Cutting Edge, the annual national conference for the addiction treatment sector, is taking place at Te Papa, Wellington, from 10-11 September. The theme for 2009 is Our Place, Our Future. The spectrum of addiction treatment is covered with the involvement of alcohol, drug, gambling, smoking cessation and mental health practitioners and consumers.

Cutting Edge is the biggest event for 2009 in the addictions sector calendar, and speakers include international experts who are considered “gurus” in their field, along with people working at the grassroots in New Zealand.

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