Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry


Transcultural Psychiatry and International Studies

Nelson, New Zealand (south island)

In 2003, Dr. Donald Fidler moved to Nelson, New Zealand for six months to work as the director of the pre-crisis unit of the Marlborough Nelson Hospital Mental Health System and to learn about the Maori culture. Andrew Trumbull, a WVU undergraduate student, accompanied him. Many medical students and residents from the UK and New Zealand worked with Dr. Fidler during his six months on the south island.

* Click any image to Enlarge.

New Zealand holds an amazing variety of landscapes from snow and glacier covered mountains to ocean fjords to white sand beaches		Nelson is a mid-size coastal town in the Marlborough district on the south island
Marlborough Nelson Hospital		The Psychiatric Hospital of the Marlborough Nelson Hospital System
Dr. Fidler was tutored by Sol Whangaa about the traditions of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand and how they approached mental health, assuring all Maori patients were assessed for qualities of family, spirituality, body, and mind.		Sol demonstrates the tongue-protruding scare tactics of the Maori, used to frighten invaders in the past and now used to frighten opposing rugby teams
A traditional Maori Marae or communal meeting house where people gather for spiritual and social events including potluck type meals		Outside, is a "tekoteko" or carved figure which is placed at the entrance. The tekoteko represents the ancestor's head. The "maihi", or carved parts of the tekoteko represent the ancestor's arms, held out as a welcome to visitors.
Dr. Fidler worked in an office housed in a remodeled home adjacent to the hospital		Here are a few of the team members of nurses, social workers, and psychologists who worked on the pre-crisis team.
Additional members of the pre-crisis team who would follow up with assessed patients as well as investigate community reportings of people who were not doing well mentally		Citizens of Nelson and the surrounding Marlborough region sit upon a hillside to enjoy a spring evening of opera and symphony music
Sheep outnumber the four million people of New Zeland by many times		And of course the sheep often take to the highway, blocking traffic for quite a bit of time as they journey to greener pastures
Dr. Fidler and one of the Kiwi internal medicine residents on top of the mountains near Nelson, an area used for filming "Lord of the Rings"		Jordan Wood, a Kiwi internal medicine resident and two medical students from the UK, atop another mountain on the south island near Nelson
Steve Hoskin, one of the Kiwi medicine residents, teaches Dr. Fidler about "ab sailing" or rope repelling		Dr. Fidler and his nephew, Andrew, were invited to crew in a regatta each Wednesday evening off the coast of New Zealand, at a time when the America's Cup was being held
Dr. Fidler and his nephew joined two Kiwi guides in rafting over a 21-foot water fall during a visit to the north island		... and survived to wave to the camera-toting girlfriend of one of the guides
Jeremy Fernando, a Kiwi internal medicine resident joined Dr. Fidler and crew for kayaking near Nelson in Abel Tasman Park		New Zealand is never lacks for amazing scenery. This scene is a tranquil lake near Queenstown on the south island