ABSTRACT
Tihei-wa Mauri Ora! is a healing construct based on the Māori worldview of Creation: Te Korekore (the realm of potential being); Te Pō (the realm of becoming); Ki te Whei-Ao (the transitional state between the realms of darkness and light); Ki te Ao Mārama (the realm of being and light); and Tihei-wa Mauri Ora! (living breath of life). This healing construct is an indigenous kaupapa Māori assessment tool that was born out of applied counseling practice through the collaboration of two wahine Māori counselors working in iwi social services in Muriwhenua, Aotearoa New Zealand, in their search to find a culturally relevant means of assessment for at-risk youth (Piripi & Body, 2010a).
