Dr Tania Cargo (Ngāti Manu, Ngāti Maru, Tainui, Ngāpuhi) is an indigenous Māori Clinical Psychologist and Co-Director of the Clinical Psychology training programme at Waipapa Taumata Rau|University of Auckland. She is also the Co-Director of the Centre for Suicide Prevention Aotearoa, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Waipapa Taumata Rau. At a national level Tania is a current board member of the New Zealand Psychologist’s Board and is an executive member of He Paiaka Tōtara (Māori Psychologists Association). Tania is also part of the PCIT International Development Task Force and is the regional PCIT trainer for New Zealand. As a Māori (indigenous) psychologist she works with whānau Māori (indigenous families) who are an extremely resilient, but who continue to suffer inequity across all societal indicators of wellbeing. Her PhD centred on the delivery of a by and for Māori, culturally adapted version of PCIT “Whetewhete Tautoko” (Supportive Whispers) to whānau Māori in a residential care and in an infant and perinatal mental health service. The findings showed excellent retention rates (88%) and large effect sizes for positive behavioural change and wellbeing. The cultural elements and Māori therapists were highly valued by the Māori parents. In 2024 Tania’s PCIT lab will be completed and her first two PCIT doctoral candidates will begin their training and research projects. In addition this lab will provide a PCIT clinic for families in Auckland and a venue for the training of PCIT clinicians in New Zealand. Tania has contributed chapters to several PCIT texts and is particularly interested in the indigenous use of PCIT. She has completed a systematic review of indigenous PCIT. Tania’s other research interests include the co-design of digital e-mental health tools for rangatahi (youth). With her colleagues Associate Professor Sarah Hetrick and Dr Karolina Statisak they have received national recognition for their work on HEADSTRONG https://www.headstrong.org.nz/ a wellbeing app for youth. Tania and students created Kia Haumanu https://www.teaonews.co.nz/2023/07/20/rangatahi-wellness-app-gets-matauranga-integration/ the first bilingual app for rangatahi Māori (Māori youth). Other digital tools she has been involved with include SPARX https://landing.sparx.org.nz/ , TuneIn https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.uniservices.tunein , an app called SUPERkids https://portal.habits.auckland.ac.nz/Portal/#/landing-superkids-trial for a PCIT trial and a suicide prevention safety chatbot. She provides ongoing CBT training nationally to child and adolescent clinicians using a model she and colleague Nikki Coleman created “Skate into Skills”. Together they have trained over 500 workers in this New Zealand created CBT model.
Clinically, Tania continues to provide PCIT to whānau and writes Psychological Reports for the New Zealand Family Court. She has been an expert witness on the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care (2022) and continues to act as an expert witness in Family Court. As a doting karani māmā (grandmother) she continues to provide free hugs and kisses to her mokopuna (grandchild) Zennie on a weekly basis.