Pamela Aratukutuku Bennett, MBChB(Auck), FRANZCP
Department of Maori and Pacific Health, University of Auckland
Dr Pamela Aratukutuku Bennett BSc (Dunedin); BScHumBio (Auckland) MBChB (Auckland); FRANZCP is the Principal Investigator for the New Zealand portion of the Roots of Resilience project, 鈥淗e Kokonga Ngakau 鈥� mo wai Te Matauranga?鈥� This project examines Maori resilience, with particular reference to Maori systems of assessment and management of issues pertaining to mental health and wellbeing. Dr Bennett is an experienced consultant psychiatrist and academic. A member of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne for almost two decades, she has been Senior Lecturer with Te Kupenga Hauora Maori, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences for the past eight years. Dr Bennett鈥檚 research interests over recent years have centered on the examination of Maori concepts of mental health and wellbeing, with the ultimate aim of contributing to the development of mental health policy and programs that better meet the needs of Maori. Dr Bennett has been the recipient of seven externally funded research grants over the past six years. She has published papers in peer review journals, presented at national and international conferences and contributed chapters to textbooks of psychiatry. She serves on the Board of the Henry Rongomau Bennett Scholarship Program, which supports Maori mental health professionals in the achievement of excellence in their chosen field. Dr Bennett has been involved in collaborative research projects with indigenous peoples of Australia, New Zealand and Canada for many years and is a consultant to a range of mental health programs internationally.