Maori experience disproportionately negative outcomes in mental health in New
Zealand. The adaptation of therapeutic assessments and interventions to allow more
culturally appropriate work with Maori occurs, however, little research promoting an
understanding of client’s experience of these adaptations exists. One such adaptation
is the sharing of whakapapa (genealogy) between therapist and client. Whakapapa
sharing involves a level of therapist self disclosure not yet investigated in
psychological literature. This Maori centred analogue study investigates the client’s
experience of whakapapa sharing during the first session of therapy. A mixed,
between and within subjects design was used, both quantitative and qualitative data
were collected and analysed. 30 Maori women between the ages of 18 and 40
participated in two sessions of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, participants
were allocated to either a Whakapapa Sharing group or a Therapist Non-Disclosure
group. All participants completed questionnaires measuring the therapeutic alliance,
therapy expectancy, outcome of therapy and a cultural questionnaire measuring
participant knowledge of their own whakapapa. Participants from the Whakapapa
Sharing group also reported on their experience of the sharing. Quantitative analyses
revealed no group differences in either the therapeutic relationship measure or the
outcome measure. All participants from the Whakapapa Sharing group, regardless of
their level of knowledge of their own whakapapa, reported the whakapapa sharing as
a positive experience. Further analysis of the qualitative data revealed five main
themes; the whakapapa sharing process reported to promote engagement, was
perceived as important for Maori, allowed the establishment of connections between
therapist and client, provided clients with information with which to form judgements
about the therapist and the sharing was seen to be an equitible experience. These
themes were arranged into a theoretical model, in which, all five were hypothesised to
have a relationship with the power imbalance inherent between therapist and client.
Whereby four of the themes were hypothesised to contribute to a decrease in the
imbalance of power and the final theme was seen as a result of the decrease in the
power imbalance. These tentative findings suggest that the exchange of whakapapa
between a therapist and client may serve to decrease the power imbalance in the
therapeutic relationship, and as such, it is an appropriate process of engagement in a
therapeutic setting with Maori clients, who often experience marginalisation
