We welcome self, whānau, and community mental health referrals.
Call 0800 MATAATUA (628 228) weekdays from 9.30am – 4.30pm.
You can also email referrals@tpoom.co.nz or message us through Facebook to reach out for counselling in Whakatāne.
Using our knowledge of Kaupapa Māori and Clinical Frameworks, our team is dedicated to working alongside individuals and whānau to change from a cycle of constant hurt, blaming, denial and reliving trauma. Our full range of mental health and addiction services are community-based, helping you to heal with a whānau ora approach. We can wānanga one-on-one or in group settings, indoors at our therapy space, or outdoors in our taiao – it’s all about what works for you.
Our counselling covers:
- Mental health
- Alcohol & Addictions
- Trauma
- LGBQT+
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Bullying
- Eating Disorders
- Sexual Violence
- Racism & Discrimination
Our ratonga include:
- Creating goals for success
- Māori Narratives
- Building resilience, confidence and self-love
- Spiritual Wellness
- Kaupapa Māori
- Therapies
- Wairua practices
- Mahi Matakite
We support whānau based on their individual needs.
Ngā Whakamārama:
We offer counselling for adults and for rangatahi year 8 and up. These can be one-on-one and/or whānau based sessions. We work with our clients and whānau in a number of settings, including home environments, beach or other recreational locations or at our office.
An important part of our whānau ora-based service is wraparound care. We have the ability to integrate our other services into this mahi and work alongside our other teams, including Whānau Ora, Rangatahi Hub, our Medical Centre, Healthy Lifestyles and Medical Academy.
Our counselling & therapy team is highly skilled, providing you with a safe space to work through anything life has thrown your way. Talk to any of our registered counsellors, social workers, suicide prevention, addictions practitioners (DPAANZ), CEP Practitioners and Mahi Matakite for the help you or your whānau need. The service is provided in a strictly confidential environment.
Our team | Ko wai mātou?
Hiria Allison
Kaiwhakahaere Mata Wai Ora (Manager)
Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Te Whakatōhea, Ngai Tūhoe
Registered Social Worker, Addictions Practitioner (DAPAANZ) & CEP practitioner.
Hiria Allison has worked in the social services and mental health sector for approximately 12 years.
In her time as a Te Puna Ora o Mataatua counsellor, she has identified an overwhelming need in the community for counselling services. Her passion is bringing healing to whānau who have been through troubling experiences and supporting them to discover healthy views of themselves.
Serena Aim
Kai Mata Ora (Counsellor)
Ngāti Pākehā
Dip Counselling, Mauri Ora, Dip Māori Applied Co-existing Problems, AOD, Provisional Registration NZ Association of Counsellors
Serena is a registered counsellor from Ōpōtiki and, for over six years, has been in the Kaupapa Māori mental health and addiction field.
She loves working alongside tangata whaiora to reach their goals and aspirations within a safe and nurturing space. The most important thing to her is being able to provide a therapeutic space to ensure whānau are in a safe, caring, and confidential environment working one-on-one with a strength-based approach. She believes “Everything happens for a reason”
Matewai Wharepapa
Kai Arataki Mata Ora (Team Lead)
Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Porou
BA (Hons), Pg Dip Ed (Primary), Cert in Public Health & Health Promotion (Suicide Prevention).
Matewai has worked as an empowerment coach alongside rangatahi and wahine to strengthen their mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing.
Her goal is to help build their resilience, self-confidence, self-love, and self-esteem to achieve success in all areas of their lives. She is passionate about reconnecting Māori to their cultural identity and heal past traumas through both Te Ao Māori and Te Ao Pākehā methodologies.
Moko Savage
Mātanga Rongoā (Traditional Māori Healer)
Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tūhoe
Moko has worked in holistic Māori healing for more than 25 years. He has worked in Mataatua, Te Tairāwhiti and as far as Tāmaki Makaurau.
Moko is passionate about holistic health, wairua healing. and sharing mātauranga with others, including the facilitation of group wānanga.
In his sessions Moko uses traditional Māori Rongoā to support his practice.
Moko teaches individuals, groups and whānau how they can strengthen and heal themselves through traditional practice.
Maverick Wainohu
Kai Mata Ora
Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne
Diploma in Whanau Ora
Born in Te Matau a Māui, Maverick spent majority of his life all over Ahitereiria and has been living in Whakatāne for the past three years with his two tamariki.
Through his devotion to aio, aroha me taurikura, Maverick is passionate about empowering others to reclaim their rangatiratanga in all aspects of their lives.
His whakaaro is led by lived experience of suicide and personal reflection about the type of guidance and support he personally saw advantage in, to navigate what he describes as “the many maunga of adversity” that he had been exposed to.
He says in his own journey he has transitioned from feeling “stuck in te pō”, to a haerenga of rediscovering who he is, free of all of the detrimental conditionings of his past.
Through years of personal exploration and attending a variety of healing and developmental kaupapa, Maverick has transmuted the pain of the past into the pathways of today’s growth.
This shift in mindset has enabled him to reclaim his rangatiratanga and “find peace within chaos”.
Maverick now serves as a mentor for rangatahi and a pou within various healing and developmental kaupapa, as a beacon of hope for those who may feel lost in te pō.
“Hurt people hurt people, but healed people heal people”
– Dr Levisay
Stevana Tuhoro
Kairuruku Whakapiki Oranga (Suicide Prevention Coordinator)
Tuhoe, Whakatohea, Ngati Awa, Te Whanau a Apanui, Ngati Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau, Ngati Pikiao
Raised in Kawerau, Stevana made a career shift into suicide prevention, driven by her own lived experience with suicide. Having firsthand faced the complexities of mental health, Stevana is deeply motivated to use her personal journey and matauranga of healing she has discovered along the way to support others who are struggling.
Her work is deeply rooted in Māori values such as whanaungatanga, manaakitanga and aroha. These values shape their compassionate approach to guiding individuals and whānau affected by suicide, ensuring they feel understood, supported, and empowered to seek help.
In her role, Stevana coordinates community wānanga, education initiatives, and awareness campaigns aimed at reducing stigma, fostering resilience, and providing critical resources to those in need.
Nicole Webb
Kai Mata Ora
Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Rangitihi, Tūwharetoa
Bachelor of Health Science in Psychology and currently completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Science.
Nicole’s passion lies in fostering an in-depth, critical understanding of how people experience and interact with health, especially within Māori communities. She aims to promote holistic and person-centered care that addresses mental, physical, and spiritual dimensions of well-being, seeking to improve health outcomes in ways that are culturally responsive and equitable.
Nicole is dedicated to supporting rangatahi and building strong, meaningful connections within my community, believing that relationship-building is essential for achieving long-lasting health and resilience.
Pita Tawha
Kairuruku Whakapiki Oranga (Suicide Prevention Coordinator)
Te Whānau ā Apanui, Ngāi Tūhoe me Ngāti Awa
Pita is a proud mama of two Tamariki, with a background in Social Science (Social Work), Business Administration, and Technology, along with her own personal experience of mental health challenges, Pita has always been deeply aware of the need for mental health services within her community.
Drawing from her own journey, she believes that recognising the importance of our upbringing, beliefs, whakapapa (ancestry), connection to Te Taiao (the natural world), and the role of whānau (family) place a significant impact on our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health and well-being.
As a strong advocate for mental health and wellbeing within her whanau, she is deeply committed to fostering open conversations about emotions, identity, personal growth and challenges, creating a safe space for anyone to korero openly about their life journeys.
Resilience & Mana Tangata
Our counselling service also works closely with Mana Tangata at the Rangatahi Hub, offering a cultural programme for both men and women to strengthen their cultural identity, practices of resilience, and personal care.Residential Care for Mental Health in Whakatane
Our team works closely with Te Whare Oranga Ngakau—an Alcohol and Drug Residential Care Facility—in Rotorua for those that require intensive care. We can facilitate the entry to and exit from the Residential Care Facility for those that reside in Mataatua/Eastern Bay of Plenty, helping to ease the transition. Current Kaupapa
“In the darkest skies, the moon shines the brightest”
We’re currently exploring the honongā between Maramataka Māori and suicide statistics for the Mataatua rohe.
To facilitate this project, we will be hosting a series of consultation wānanga across the Mataatua region from August 2024 to January 2025.
