Kaupapa Māori Associate Professor
Pikihuia Pomare
Dr. Pikihuia Pomare (Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Pūkenga) is an Associate Professor of Kaupapa Māori Psychology in the School of Psychology and the Centre for Indigenous Psychologies at Massey University, based at the Ōtehā Campus in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. Led by ngākau (heart), mauri (vital essence), and wairua (spirit), her research, teaching, and clinical practice are grounded in mātauranga Māori, Kaupapa Māori and Indigenous psychologies. Her work explores rongoā Māori (traditional healing), te taiao (the natural environment), and wairua (spirituality), focusing on how these knowledge systems shape wellbeing and healing.
Pikihuia supervises graduate psychology students undertaking innovative research that pushes the boundaries of Indigenous and clinical psychology. She brings extensive clinical experience in Māori and youth mental health alongside broad research streams that include strengths-based approaches to rangatahi engagement with digital technologies for hauora, supported by a Marsden-funded project.
A proud raukura (graduate) of Kura Kaupapa Māori and Kōhanga Reo movements, Pikihuia is deeply committed to Māori-led scholarship and innovation. She serves as a member of the National Standing Committee on Te Tiriti Issues and is a former Bicultural Co-Director on the New Zealand Psychological Society Executive.