About us
Our vision
Te Ata Hāpara is committed to an Aotearoa without suicide.
Our achievements
Te Ata Hāpara was formed in 2022 to consolidate the commitment of the leadership team and wider research whānau to suicide prevention research informed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi that is equity focussed and prioritises the lived experience of whānau.
We have recently
- Hosted an Australasia IASP suicide prevention hui supporting the translation of research to practice via a two-day hui in February 2024 attended by more than 70 local and international participants
- Presented at key notes at international conferences on suicide prevention at the IASP 11th Asia Pacific Conference in Thailand and 20th ESSB European symposium on suicide prevention in Italy
- Secured HRC funding for an RCT of apps to support young people and to explore the implementation of school-based guidelines for managing self-harm
- Launched our resource for whānau supporting a young person who harms themselves with the generous support of Cure Kids and co-designed with whānau with lived experience.
Our Partners
We collaborate with the suicide prevention sector locally and internationally. Locally we collaborate with Government, Mortality Review Committees, Te Whatu Ora Suicide Prevention and Postvention Coordinators, lived experience networks, community and social service provider networks, professional training programmes in clinical psychology, health, psychology, social work, occupational therapy, medicine and psychiatry, which facilitate strong pathways to impact for our research findings. Our international partners include the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), the Suicide Prevention research program at Orygen, and Black Dog Institute, University of New South Wales.
Our leadership
Tania (Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Manu, Ngāpuhi) is a Clinical Psychologist and director of the Clinical Psychology program at Waipapa Taumata Rau. She is a strong advocate for ensuring Te Tiriti O Waitangi principles are upheld in bicultural research practices. She is on the NZ Psychologists Board, is an active member of He Paiaka Tōtara (Māori Psychologists Association) and a School Trustees member. She specializes in working with whānau Māori in parenting, mental health, family court and suicide prevention research.
Associate Professor Sarah Hetrick
Sarah is a Clinical Psychologist, Associate Professor of Youth Mental Health, and Principal Advisor Suicide Prevention Group Manatū Hauora Ministry of Health. Her expertise is in evidence synthesis as well as primary research focusing on suicide and self-harm prevention, particularly in young people. Her research has a real-world focus on knowledge transfer with the aim of practice and health service improvement, as well as policy change, and includes both clinical and public health approaches to suicide prevention.
Dr Sarah Fortune
Sarah is a Clinical Psychologist, suicide epidemiologist, senior researcher and Director of Population Mental Health, School of Population Health, University of Auckland. She was the Chair of the Suicide Mortality Review Committee for the Health Quality and Safety Commission. Dr Fortune is an expert in suicide prevention across the life span, including both public health and clinical approaches to suicide prevention. She has expertise in suicide prevention interventions including reducing access to certain methods of suicide, the impact of media coverage on suicide prevention with particular expertise in epidemiological approaches to mental health, the use of sentinel surveillance and morbidity data to inform and evaluate interventions.
Our Executive Team
Linda is registered senior Occupational Therapist and a PhD Candidate at the University of Auckland supervised by Associate Professor Sarah Hetrick, Associate Professor Sarah Fortune and Professor Terryann Clark. Linda’s PhD focuses on the best practice environment for managing self-harm in schools. She has over 20 years experience in systems and service design and delivery and mortality review. She is a leading expert in co-design and maintains a role as a clinical leader in the front line of suicide prevention and postvention. Linda is particularly interested in supporting communities in their aspirations to prevent suicide.
Brooke Brake
Brook is a registered senior Social Worker and works as a clinical leader for two key national suicide prevention and postvention services. She has a background in Child and Youth Mental Health and more than 20 years’ experience in the front line, and in service design and delivery. Brooke is an experienced and skilled professional in suicide prevention with a speciality in postvention and bereavement, including mortality review committees and organisational reviews.
Te Pou Whānui
Kaumatua Sonny Niha (Te Orewai, Te Uriroroi, Ngāpuhi) is the cultural advisor for the Child and Adolescent mental health team within Psychological Medicine at Waipapa Taumata Rau. He has also been the chair of Waipareira Kuamatua rōpu and has worked within the Auckland City Hospital service providing cultural advice and support to whānau Māori. He has been involved in tikanga and te reo Māori advancement in the Department of Psychological Medicine since 2020. In this role he works alongside Matua Te Waere to align the principles and practices of Te Ata Hāpara with Kaupapa Māori elements.
Bree Solomon (Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Tura Te Ngakau, Ngāti Ngararanui) is the Clinical Manager for the Community Postvention Response Service (CPRS) team in CASA. She is a Registered Addictions Specialist with a background in Mental Health and Addictions, a Kaupapa Māori Accredited Clinical Supervisor and brings leadership experience to this role. She is passionate about honoring the voices of all peoples and holding hope until such a time that they can hold hope for themselves.
Lynne Russell (Ngāti Kahungungu, Rangitane, Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Porou) is an Associate Professor and Dean Māori at Te Herenga Waka–Victoria University of Wellington, where she co-directs the health services research centre, Te Hikuwai Rangahau Hauora. For the last 15 years she has used her lived experience of suicide loss to focus on her research on indigenous suicide prevention and postvention strategies. She provides research oversight and knowledge to this role.
Tania Cargo (Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Manu, Ngāpuhi) is a clinical psychologist and director of the Clinical Psychology program at WaipapaTaumata Rau. She is a strong advocate for ensuring Te Tiriti O Waitangi principles are upheld in bicultural research practices. She is on the NZ Psychologists Board, is an active member of HePaiaka Tōtara (Māori Psychologists Association) and a School Trustees member. She specializes in working with whānau Māori in parenting, mental health, family court and suicide prevention research.
Tania Papalii (Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāpuhi) is a Principal Advisor Suicide Prevention Office, Manatū Hauora. She was the Pou Manawaroa – Suicide Prevention Lead for Te Tai Tokerau for over 10 years and a member of the Suicide Mortality Review Committee and Ngā Pou Arawhenua – Māori Advisory Committee to the mortality review committees for the Health Quality and Safety Commission. She has made an ongoing and consistent contribution to suicide prevention, including via various research and research-related activities.
Te Waere Timotuha Te Peeti (Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Raukawa) has worked within Clinical Advisory Services Aotearoa (CASA) for many years. He is a kaumatua of his community and a kaiako of Matauranga Māori at his local kura. Matua Waere is passionate about whānau. His role along with Matua Sonny is to support Te Ata Hāpara in their endeavours to uphold Te Titiri, prioritise Māoritanga within suicide prevention and research, ultimately to tautoko whānau.
Flo Tamehana (Te Atiawa) is as an experienced Senior Social Work Practitioner with over twenty years of field experience across multi- sectorial agencies. She supports students at The School of Secondary Tertiary Studies. (SSTS) to achieve high educational outcomes and has been recognised by the NZ Association of Social Workers the award recipient of the Tangata-o te Whenua Award presented in Christchurch 2023.
Terryann Clark (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Whātua) is a professor in the School of Nursing at Waipapa Taumata Rau. She also holds the Cure Kids Professorial Chair in Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Better known as TC she has a passion for supporting rangatahi well-being and has been a foundation leader of the largest study of rangatahi “Youth 2000” series.