Dr. Alexander Stevens II MIndigSt MHlthPrac PhD heard his first sexual abuse disclosure from a friend when he was sixteen. At eighteen, he advocated for Māori and Pacific people in the LGBT+ rainbow/disability communities and, five years later, met a friend living with schizophrenia and addictions. All these experiences resulted in him working in a career in health and wellness.
Almost twenty years later, Alexander has used his passion and knowledge of addressing historical sexual violence trauma, mental illness, addictions, and well-being to support Māori and Pacific communities across Aotearoa, where he has worked with over 3,500 men with childhood experiences of sexual violence.
Health and wealth go hand-in-hand, and the Māori community asked Alexander to work in financial capability, including supporting Māori communities heading towards retirement. While providing a free therapy service in the community, he also worked at the Retirement Commission, Good Shepherd (microfinance) and more recently, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand as a Senior Advisor, contributing to the diversity, equity, inclusion, and Te Ao Māori Team.
When he is not working with Government organisations, Alexander provides clinical supervision, research, social service programs, project management in financial capability, and health services. In 2019, he founded StandingTallNZ.org, which supports Māori and Pacific men and communities affected by sexual violence. When working with clients, he provides therapy and rongoa for Māori and Pacific communities to reduce the impacts of sexual violence, mental health and addiction recovery, and family harm.
The idea for StandingTallNZ.org emerged during his PhD studies (2017 – 2022) in Māori and Pacific Health. StandingTallNZ.org also provides training and workshops for health and social professionals to learn how to assist in sexual abuse recovery, work with disclosures, and support Māori/Pacific men using indigenous approaches to wellness and empowerment.
When he is not working in health, he provides mentorship to Māori/Pacific tane interested in working in the social and health sectors.
His daily motto is: "Hei tama tū tama rā!"
Links:
- Standing Tall NZ
- Alexander Stevens II - How a young Māori boy from Ōtara became a highly-qualified Counsellor specialising in Male Sexual Abuse
- Power of my Māori name: Stories of indigenous struggles in white New Zealand
- DAPAANZ – Our people
Masters in Indigenous Studies
Power of my Maori name: Stories of indigenous struggles in white New Zealand https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/handle/10523/7532
Masters in Health Practice: Māori Health
Moving from Te Po (Night) and into Te Ao (Light): an Indigenous Framework to Support Māori Males Who Have Been Sexually Abused in New Zealand https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/items/f742c579-f8e1-4eb8-96a5-4315a2cc7eb4
Doctorate in Philosophy
StandingTallNZ: An Indigenous Psychology Approach to Developing an E-health Website to Support Māori & Pacific Men, Their Support People and Community Groups Affected by Male Childhood Sexual Violence https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/items/403e6034-1084-4f1d-984f-bbcb63c4feec
