He Whakawhitinga Kōrero: Māori Consultation in Sensitive Psychological Research

Effective consultation with Māori within psychologically sensitive research involving family harm, trauma, mental health, and other sensitive aspects of human behaviour and wellbeing requires culturally grounded and relationally accountable engagement. Despite increasing expectations for Māori consultation, limited research has explored how consultation is experienced and enacted within sensitive psychological research involving Māori communities. This study aimed to understand Māori perspectives and insights regarding effective consultation in sensitive psychological research. Grounded in a Kaupapa Māori qualitative methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine Māori participants, consisting of five community members and four researchers. Participants provided perspectives from both those who had experienced being consulted within Māori communities and those who had undertaken consultation as researchers. Participants were recruited through relationship-based networks, reflecting the relational nature of the research design. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: (1) Relational Foundations of Consultation, in which participants described effective consultation as being grounded in whakawhanaungatanga, trust, and meaningful relationship building; (2) Locating Consultation: Where and With Whom, which emphasised that consultation was most effective when undertaken with the appropriate people, communities, and knowledge holders; (3) Relational Accountability in Consultation, where participants highlighted the importance of genuine intent, transparency, reciprocity, and accountability; and (4) Enacting Meaningful Consultation, which reflected consultation as an ongoing process embedded throughout the research lifecycle and supported by practices that address barriers to meaningful engagement. Findings reinforce Kaupapa Māori and Indigenous literature emphasising relational engagement and culturally responsive research, while extending current understandings of consultation in sensitive psychological research by i highlighting the importance of whakawhanaungatanga, genuine accountability, and consultation across all stages of the research process. The study highlights the importance of transparency through open communication, reciprocity through mutually beneficial relationships, reflexivity and accountability, organisational support for consultation, and sustained relational engagement in supporting ethical psychological research with Māori communities in Aotearoa New Zealand.