The good lives model: New avenues for Maori rehabilitation?

• Published in: Sexual abuse in Australia and New Zealand Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 59 - 69
• Main Authors: Leaming, Nathan, Willis, Gwenda M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Haymarket, N.S.W Australia and New Zealand Association for Treatment of Sexual Abusers 01.06.2016; Australia and New Zealand Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abuse (A NZATS A)
• Subjects: Best practice; Correctional institutions; Correctional treatment programs; Criminal sentences; Cultural identity; Imprisonment; Incorporation; Maori; Maori (New Zealand people); Offenders; Offending; Prevention; Prisoners; Prisons; Psychological intervention; Rehabilitation; Rehabilitation of criminals; Sex crimes; Sex offenders; Studies; Treatment methods; Violent offenders; Well being; New Zealand
• ISSN: 1833-8488

Psychological treatment programs targeting sexual, violent and general offending can only be effective to the extent that clients are engaged in treatment. Beyond the obvious issues inherent in engaging clients in a program that they may feel coerced into, engaging Maori clients presents additional challenges. In response to the well documented over-representation of Maori people in New Zealand prisons, attempts have been made to integrate Maori ideas and practices into the operation of treatment programs for offenders. However, the extent to which Maori models of health and well-being have been successfully integrated into treatment programs is limited. In this article we explore why Maori models are often absent from offending treatment programs, and how they might be better incorporated. We argue that the best practice rehabilitation framework (i.e., the Risk Needs Responsivity model) is largely incompatible with Maori models of health and wellbeing, and that the contemporary Good Lives Model better accommodates the incorporation of Maori models into the operation of treatment programs for offenders.