Abstract:Three decades of listening to people suffering from psychosis is crystallised in the image of the tree. This narrative about mental health, in general, and psychotic symptomology, in particular, was created for daily therapeutic work in residential psychiatry. It is a person‐centred and strength‐oriented way of looking at the existential impact of psychologically alienating experiences. Although indigenously unique, the author believes the image is universal and can serve many.
“…Although I have had a long interest in family history and genealogy, my more recent interest in discovering more has been stimulated by my engagement with te Ao Māori (the Māori world) which values such knowledge and integrates it into certain rituals such as introducing oneself in relation to geographical and symbolic features and ancestors (see Tudor, 2012). In this context, I was delighted to read Dion Van Werde's (2021) article in which he explores the image of the tree, as I have a tree, the Midland Oak, near Leamington in Warwickshire, England, with which I have meaningful associations.…”
“…Although I have had a long interest in family history and genealogy, my more recent interest in discovering more has been stimulated by my engagement with te Ao Māori (the Māori world) which values such knowledge and integrates it into certain rituals such as introducing oneself in relation to geographical and symbolic features and ancestors (see Tudor, 2012). In this context, I was delighted to read Dion Van Werde's (2021) article in which he explores the image of the tree, as I have a tree, the Midland Oak, near Leamington in Warwickshire, England, with which I have meaningful associations.…”
“…I stand connected to you, indigenous peoples of Belgium, in your stories as addressed in the article written by the Flemish Dion Van Werde (2021). Connecting to your use of the metaphoric language of your people because I, too, come from a culture rich in this kind of language.…”
In response to the three peer‐reviewed articles in this special issue, this reflective piece begins with the author, a Māori woman with Celtic ancestry, acknowledging and claiming her indigenous skin—and, more broadly, an indigenous body of knowledge. The article responds to the articles by Sisalli, Van Werde, and Bagge and Berliner firstly by making connections with them; and secondly, through taking a step backwards into the author's own genealogy in order to suggest certain moves forwards for indigenous health and well‐being. Finally, it ends with some comments about Western paradigms and Māori narratives.
“…Any of us, put in certain situations, out of our ordinary experience, will unleash aspects of ourselves that we may find more difficult to contain. How prescient it is to read in Van Werde's (2021) article about his mentor's view of psychosis:Prouty (1994) presents an existential view on being psychotic. He understands it as the absense of connection.…”
Section: Tree As a Unifying Universal Symbolmentioning
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