Philip Siataga

National Research & Workforce Development Manager, Director, Belonging Ltd Dapaanz registered AOD /Gambling Practitioner, B.A.,Dip, Grad.,PGDip.

Phil is 1^st generation New Zaland born Samoan with Irish and Scottish descent. His father is from the village of Tanugamanono, Upolu, Samoa and his mother is from the Southland town of Mataura.  He lives in Otautahi Christchurch. He is the proudest father of 2 wonderful daughters and has one surviving sibling – a twin brother who lives with him.

 

Phil has a long background in the addiction and mental health sector providing clinical practice and supervision as well as research and evaluation and education mahi spanning almost 4 decades across Aotearoa in Porirua, South Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch.  This includes 15 years working in therapeutic community settings – rehabilitation programmes. Phil joined Mapu Maia (a Pacific Provider of clinical and social support and public health services) in 2017 as a clinician and is currently the National Research & Workforce Development Manager.

 

He is also director of Belonging Ltd (a research and education consultancy). He taught previously on the National Addiction Center-Post-graduate programme Addictions studies programme at University of Otago for over 10 years, and sits on the Te Take Take Advisory Group.  Phil has also served on the boards of several NGOs community trusts including, Mental Health Advocacy and Peer Support (MHAPS), was a co-founding board member of the Otago Pacific Health Trust and was chair of the Canterbury Music Education Trust.  He currently serves on the Youth Hub Trust board in Otautahi.  Phil is also a co-founding and current member of the Drua Pasifika network (formerly the National Pasifika Treatment Network established in 2004 and served on the board the New Zealand Drug Foundation

 

He has held leadership roles as a Pasifika advisor to the public sector including serving on Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand- Pacific Reference Group (PRG) from 2004-2011, and the Pacific Advisory Group (Te Hiringa Hauora HPA 2012 – 2021). He currently serves on the Pacific Alcohol Advisory Group (PAAG)- Te Whatu Ora and the Alcohol Harm Reduction Steering Group (Ministry of Health).   His research background includes working on of the Prime Minister Chief Science Advisors Task Force 2010-2011 and providing 25-years research and evaluation. He also serves on the Le Va Clinical Reference Group and has also taught for many years on the integration and interweaving of cultural and clinical practice across mental health, disability and the addiction sectors. In this space he has developed Vā -centred therapy, a Pasifika lens on several modalities common in the counselling field.

 

His passion is to amplify the power of kindness for transformational change at every level.