Rate My Professor Tracy Haitana

Dr Tracy Haitana is a Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Department of Māori/Indigenous Health Innovation at the University of Otago, Christchurch, Faculty of Medicine. A registered clinical psychologist of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi and Ngāti Tūwharetoa descent, she earned her PhD from the University of Otago in 2022, with a thesis examining the experiences of Māori patients and their whānau in bipolar disorder treatment, which earned a place on the 2022 Exceptional Thesis list. Her earlier qualifications include a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology from the University of Canterbury in 2007, MA with Distinction, BA First Class Honours in Child and Family Psychology, and B.Sc in Psychology, also from the University of Canterbury. Haitana began her professional career as a clinical psychologist in criminal justice settings with the Department of Corrections, later providing advisory services on sexual trauma through ACC and maintaining a private practice. She contributes to curriculum development and teaching, integrating the Hui Process and Meihana Model for health professionals and clinical psychology students, and teaches hauora Māori competencies in the undergraduate medical curriculum and postgraduate training.

As a Kaupapa Māori researcher and member of the Māori and Bipolar Disorder Research Team, Haitana's academic interests center on the influence of healthcare systems—structural, organizational, and clinical—on equitable mental health outcomes for Māori, particularly those with bipolar disorder. Her key publications include 'Culturally competent, safe and equitable clinical care for Māori experiencing bipolar disorder: A framework for clinical practice' (2022, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry), '“If we can just dream...” Māori talk about healthcare for bipolar disorder' (2022, International Journal of Health Planning and Management), 'Māori with bipolar disorder identify structural barriers and solutions' (2023, Ethnicity & Health), and 'The Right to Equal Health: Best Practice Priorities for Māori with Bipolar Disorder from Staff Focus Groups' (2024, Healthcare). She served as co-investigator on the team awarded joint first place in the Nature Inclusive Health Award 2023 for research advancing inclusive health practices. Haitana also acts as Hauora Māori 5th-year Convenor and provides clinical supervision in medico-legal fields.