Psych Vivas · Professional — cultural formulation and Indigenous mental health
Cultural formulation and Indigenous mental health — structured clinical viva
Fellowship viva covering CFI domains, Māori health models, cultural safety, post-self-harm culturally informed care, and non-stereotyping practice.
On this page & tools
Target exams
Interpretation
Reveal interpretation
This station tests risk plus cultural formulation, not culture instead of risk. Immediate tasks: medical clearance confirmed, current suicidal ideation/intent/plan/means, protective factors, substances, capacity for safety planning, and least restrictive disposition.[2]
Cultural formulation. Use OCF/CFI domains: identity (including Māori identity as she defines it — not assumed), conceptualisation of distress (including wairua), stressors and resilience (whānau, community), and relationship factors (mistrust of mainstream services). Kleinman-style questions map meaning of the overdose and hoped-for help.[1][6]
Te Whare Tapa Whā. Name four walls — tinana, hinengaro, whānau, wairua — as a holistic frame for assessment and aftercare, while stressing diversity among Māori and avoiding essentialism.[3]
Evidence-informed cultural care. Te Ira Tangata is an example RCT of culturally informed treatment versus treatment as usual after self-harm in Māori — use it as an evidence anchor for culturally informed pathways, not as a claim that one protocol fits all.[2]
Cultural safety. Distinguish from self-certified competence: safety is recipient-defined and requires power-sharing and anti-racism (Papps and Ramsden; Curtis refinements).[4][5]
Practical plan. Whānau involvement with consent; Māori health worker liaison; safety plan that includes cultural supports; follow-up with dual pathways if needed; document without inventing legal sections.[2][5]
Key points
[1] [2] [4] [5]References
- [1]Lewis-Fernández R, Aggarwal NK, Lam PC, et al. Feasibility, acceptability and clinical utility of the Cultural Formulation Interview: mixed-methods results from the DSM-5 international field trial Br J Psychiatry, 2017.PMID 28104738
- [2]Hatcher S, Coupe N, Wikiriwhi K, et al. Te Ira Tangata: a Zelen randomised controlled trial of a culturally informed treatment compared to treatment as usual in Māori who present to hospital after self-harm Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol, 2016.PMID 26956679
- [3]Durie M Indigenous mental health 2035: future takers, future makers and transformational potential Australas Psychiatry, 2011.PMID 21878027
- [4]Papps E, Ramsden I Cultural safety in nursing: the New Zealand experience Int J Qual Health Care, 1996.PMID 9117203
- [5]Curtis E, Loring B, Jones R, et al. Refining the definitions of cultural safety, cultural competency and Indigenous health: lessons from Aotearoa New Zealand Int J Equity Health, 2025.PMID 40346663
- [6]Kleinman A, Eisenberg L, Good B Culture, illness, and care: clinical lessons from anthropologic and cross-cultural research Ann Intern Med, 1978.PMID 626456