Pumahara Consultants provide expertise for your personal and professional development. This expertise includes meaningful training, professional supervision and mentoring and other workplace focussed consultancy.

Whaiwhia te kete mātauranga
Fill the basket of knowledge

This whakatauki speaks to the value of education and expanding our knowledge in encouraging people to fill their baskets with their learning.

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years of experience in health, education & research settings
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Workshops To Choose From​
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development specialists

Meaningful learning in the workplace

Our workshops use real life scenarios and practical activities to make learning meaningful.

We can tailor a workshop to your needs otherwise pick from the workshops below.

All services delivered face to face in a setting of your choice or we can use ZOOM and other platforms.

Our workshops

Explore the Workshops on offer

Along with these workshops, we can also tailor a course to specifically cater for your needs. 

If you have any questions or queries, please feel free to contact us.

Turning Your Learning Into Action

Clinical, Professional and Personal Supervision

Supervision with Dr. Chis Taua provides the opportunity to support and encourage an individual’s professional and personal development and learning and our passion lies in supporting people as they adjust to change and growth. Supervisions assist you to translate developing knowledge into practice. We offer role identity, strengths-based approaches, and small figure work.


Mental Health First Aid Aotearoa

Become a Mental Health First Aider

Statistics show that almost 50% of New Zealanders will meet criteria for mental health challenges at some stage in their lives. Mental health challenges also are not limited to particular groups of people, they can affect all of us at some time either personally or within our family/whanau, workplaces, education settings and even on the sports fields. Suicide is reported to be one of the top three leading causes of death in Aotearoa NZ.

Our Vision at Pumahara Consultants is to skill people in the community, in workplaces and any other setting to assist others who may be experiencing a mental health challenge or developing a mental health crisis. We want to help you learn the skills to have safe conversations around mental health and distress. Talk to us about becoming a Mental Health First Aider.

The two-day Mental Health First Aid training program is evidence-based, evidence-informed, internationally researched, and can be found in 24 countries around the world.

Aside from the skills, confidence and knowledge you will gain you will receive a Certificate of Attendance to the Mental Health First Aid course and you can choose to complete an open book online short test to be recognised as an accredited Mental Health First Aider (the latter is not compulsory). You will also receive a manual that has comprehensive information and  an in-depth list of support services and practical resources to assist someone experiencing a mental health challenge.

Contact us to discuss options for delivery. We have a variety of possible delivery modes to meet your needs.

Please note this course is for education purposes only for people aged 18 years and over. It is not for providing therapeutic support.

Learn All About Our Consultants

Meet Our Team

Dr. Chris Taua

Director/Consultant

PhD., RN., BN., MN(Distinction)., PGC(MH), CAdultTch.,CPreceptorship., FNZCMHN., MANZMH

Dr. Chris Taua

Director/Consultant

Chris is a registered nurse by profession with a background in mental health. She has over 25 years' experience in health, education, and community service sectors. Her education portfolio is vast and diverse and includes but is not limited to mental health and illness, disability, ethics and boundaries, communication and de-escalation, collaborative note writing, and culturally safe practice. Her PhD explored the mental health inpatient experiences of people with intellectual disability and she continues to publish on this and other topics including cultural diversity/cultural safety. She is currently Director and primary Consultant for ‘Pumahara Consultants’ and holds an Honorary Senior Lecturer role with the University of Queensland as well as other teaching roles with various Universities around New Zealand and Australia. Chris is a nurse member of the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, a Ministry of Health appointed position. She has sat on various Boards and her current voluntary role is as Editor of the NZ College of Mental health nurses Newsletter. Chris is Based in Canterbury but has flexibility to travel to all areas of New Zealand.

Gail Phillips

Associate

Dip.N, MN (Merit), PGDip (Mental Health), PGCert Alcohol and Other Drugs, CPreceptorship, MNZCMHN

Gail Phillips

Associate

Gail is a registered nurse with over 25 years’ experience working in a variety of mental health nursing and education roles within the Canterbury region. She has a special interest in psychopharmacology and has undertaken education in pharmacology and prescribing as part of her Masters in Nursing. She has recently completed her application for Nurse prescribing. Her current clinical position is Psychiatric Consult Liaison Nurse in a busy Emergency Department. She also teaches and undertakes other academic work for Universities in New Zealand and Australia. Gail’s teaching portfolio includes as well de-escalation and various mental illness topics. Gail has undertaken training in adult education and is an approved Clinical Supervisor for the CDHB. Gail is based in Canterbury but does have some flexibility to travel.

Grant Cooper

Associate

B.Com

Grant Cooper

Associate

Grant has 20 years’ experience working in the field of mental health in a wide variety of roles. This includes being a manager of a mental health service specialising in advocacy and peer support; a mental health promoter with the Like Minds, Like Mine programme; mental health educator to a wide variety of community, government and mental health organisations; Individual and group supervision to mental health services staff; managing an education programme to medical students; managing a mental health research programme and strategic development and Governance roles in mental health services.

Grant also has considerable experience working in the field of intellectual disability in management and support roles. He has his own lived experience of mental distress which has been integral to all his roles

Grant is based in Dunedin and is currently involved in a wide variety of education, supervision and research roles. Grants formal qualifications include a B.Com and Teaching Diploma and well as training in Intentional Peer Support and Professional Supervision

Kathryn Eilken

Associate

RN, RM

Kathryn Eilken

Associate

Kathryn is a highly experienced nurse with vast experience working with high-risk adolescents. Her expertise is in working in various specialised mental health and general health inpatient settings across the lifespan. She has worked in youth residential services, various NGO settings, as a family/youth worker for marginalised youth and has provided clinical supervision for NGO youth mental health staff as well as in acute adult mental health settings. Kathryn also worked in a variety of roles in the United Kingdom. She currently works in older persons mental health. Kathryn’s primary area for teaching is in Youth workshops although this portfolio is currently expanding to include De-escalation and other mental health topics. Kathryn is based in Canterbury.

What Our Clients Say

Client Testimonials