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Two Aotearoa New Zealand psychology organisations have issued a joint apology to Māori for harm linked to racism and monoculturalism in the profession. Their reported acknowledgement covers psychology training, working as a psychologist, and seeking psychological services. The account comes from a contemporaneous Scoop News report; the organisations’ full apology text was not available in the material retrieved.
Which psychology organisations apologised?
The reported joint apology came from the New Zealand Psychological Society Rōpū Mātai Hinengaro o Aotearoa (NZPsS) and the New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists (NZCCP). Scoop News reported the apology on 2 October 2026, attributing its details to the organisations’ leaders.
Because the full statement on the organisations’ own channels was not available in the retrieved material, the wording and details below reflect what Scoop’s indexed report attributes to them, not an independent review of the original apology.
What harms did the apology address?
NZCCP president Clare Couch was reported as saying that research over four decades had found negative effects when assumptions and methods developed around Western populations were applied to Māori. The reported harms reach across several points of contact with the profession:
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- Training: Māori seeking psychology training encountered harms associated with the profession’s approach.
- Professional work: Māori psychologists faced harm within the discipline.
- Services: Māori seeking psychological services were also affected.
The report quotes Couch as saying: “For this we are deeply sorry and apologise without reservation for the harms done to Māori by the discipline, as well as our failure to prevent these.” The statement acknowledges not only harm attributed to the discipline but also an institutional failure to prevent it.
What did the organisations say about change and Māori leadership?
NZPsS president Iris Fontanilla reportedly recognised Māori professionals’ work to introduce models that fit a te ao Māori worldview. She also acknowledged the challenges those professionals faced and said the wider profession had been slow to act. The account places that work within the apology’s context; it does not provide detail about particular models or describe specific changes adopted by the two organisations.
NZPsS Kaihautū Professor Waikaremoana Waitoki was reported as describing systemic racism in psychology and its effects on workforce representation, training content, and decisions about whether to remain in the profession. She cited figures of 17.5 percent of Aotearoa New Zealand’s population being Māori and 6 percent of the psychological workforce being Māori. Those percentages are figures attributed to Waitoki in the 2026 report; the excerpt did not give their underlying methodology, workforce denominator, or reference year.
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What will change after the apology?
The available account does not establish whether the joint apology included commitments, milestones, accountability measures, or a timetable for reporting progress. That leaves the practical follow-through unclear; it does not show that the organisations made no commitments. The full apology and any accompanying implementation plan would be needed to assess what action they have promised and how it will be measured.
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How does this relate to other professional apologies?
Fontanilla reportedly situated the apology alongside apologies to Indigenous peoples by professional bodies in Australia, Canada, and the United States. The report does not identify those bodies or set out their statements, so it supports that broad context but not a detailed comparison.
A separate Association of Psychotherapists Aotearoa New Zealand statement, titled “APANZ Formal Apology to Rainbow Communities,” addresses harms associated with psychotherapy theory and practice toward Māori and other communities. It is a distinct statement; the available information does not establish that it was coordinated with or prompted the NZPsS–NZCCP apology.
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