Otago Southland Branch - New Zealand Psychological Society

02/11/2025

Message from the Chair.

Tēnā koutou katoa

Ko Kāi Tahu te iwi, Ko au te heamana hou mō tō mātou peka.
Ko Crispin Garden-Webster taku ingoa.

Greetings, The Branch committee held our annual general meeting held on Monday 4 August, I was nominated and elected as the new Chairperson for the Branch, and I want to take the opportunity to introduce myself and recognise others. My name is Crispin Garden-Webster. I am an Organisational Psychologist and Fellow of the Society. I’ve been with the Otago -Southland Branch for a year since moving to Dunedin in August 2024 to take up a professional staff appointment at the University of Otago. I have been with the Society in other Branches and roles since 1984, and in that time been a supervisor for registration, mentor, served on Board working groups and been active at branch and IOP level in Wellington and Christchurch.

So to others, thank you to outgoing Chair Bill Gillmore for his mahi at the helm of our Branch and for taking on the role of Secretary on the new Committee. Thank you also to Max Gold, our long serving Treasurer who leaves the Committee to share his talents with the Rowing community in Twizel. Welcome to Martina Bruwer, who is new to the Committee, thank you Martina for volunteering to serve as the new Treasurer, and a big shout out to Diane Bellamy, Brian Dixon and Jack Austin for their continued support on the Committee.

Looking ahead I would like us to build a strong collaborative community, diverse in scope, and valuable to the Society as a regional voice. Starting today I am keen to engage with you on what you want the Branch to be for you, your colleagues, clients and our professional community.

I am keen hear your thoughts on professional development interests.

I also want to grow the Committee. Many hands make light work and diversity of scope and experience will benefit our members. If you feel you’d like to help grow the profession and grow yourself in the region and elsewhere, then I’d love to hear from you. A couple of Student members would also be great. Get in touch and let’s see what we can do.

I look forward to working with you to grow a highly regarded community for the profession that is relevant and responsive. Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi,

Mā te wā, nā Crispin cgardenwebster@gmail.com
02040833432

18/10/2025

Climate and environment:

What will you leave to future generations?

Terri Morrissey, Chair of the British Psychological Society’s Climate and Environment Action Coordinating Group, introduces a collection of articles around the climate and biodiversity crisis.

Terri Morrissey, Chair of the British Psychological Society’s Climate and Environment Action Coordinating Group, introduces a collection of articles around the climate and biodiversity crisis.

05/10/2025

Mental health awareness week
6-12 Oct 2025

https://mhaw.nz/

03/09/2025

From Linda Buzzell-Saltzman in Climate Psychology Discussion Group
An exciting new book for mental health clinicians and educators is PRESCRIBING NATURE: A CLINICIAN'S GUIDE TO ECOTHERAPY by Patricia H. Hasbach, Ph.D., published by Norton Professional Books and now available for pre-order. It offers a wonderful, comprehensive and practical guide to the rapidly-growing field of nature-based healing and belongs on every mental health clinician's bookshelf!
https://www.amazon.com/Prescribi.../dp/1324053666/ref=sr_1_1?

03/08/2025

Kia ora

The NZPsS Otago/Southland Branch AGM will be held:

Monday 4th August 2024 @ 12.15pm.
Venue: Psychological Medicine, Dunedin Hospital Room 205
Zoom will be available by request

Nominations for Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer are welcome.

Best wishes

Bill Gilmore, Chairperson

11/06/2025

This will be of interest to those working with children and teenagers.

This report examines the psychological impact of climate change education on primary age children, arguing that the current approach is cognitively inappropriate and ethically questionable. It calls for a shift toward developmentally appropriate, psychologically safe and empowering environmental edu...

08/04/2025

Your perception and reality are not always aligned.

Note: Yes, light plays a role in color, but this effect is about more than just color. It involves how neighboring receptive fields influence one another, as well as adaptation phenomena in neurons. Visual illusions have taught us a lot about how the neural retina and visual system work.

28/03/2025

I still see a spiral 🤣

19/12/2024

We are saddened to hear of the death of our friend and colleague, Dr Damian Scarf, Associate Professor at Otago.
You will be missed incredibly by your students, former students, research collaborators and colleagues in psychology. RIP Damian..

From the New Zealand Psychological Society ...

Kia ora koutou,

It is with immense sadness that we heard of Associate Professor Damian Scarf’s passing overnight. Damian is a keen rugby player who also happened to be a social psychology researcher at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka. His expertise in social identity and belonging, youth mental health, alcohol consumption, and anti-racism was highly regarded. He was awarded a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship in 2019 for ‘The Belonging Project’ and is a key researcher for the MBIE-funded Working to End Racial Oppression (WERO) research programme. He is passionate about promoting social justice and worked on equity-based projects to increase the representation of minoritised groups in health professional programmes (A Mirror on Society) and address institutional racism. He is well-loved by his students, who remember him as a supervisor who would go above and beyond to create opportunities for them in different paths of psychology. In 2024, he was an integral part of the WERO research group that published a report highlighting the myriad forms of racism and oppression in the training and workplaces of psychology. We will remember him as a strong advocate for a Te Tiriti-inspired psychology that truly represents Aotearoa’s past, present and future. Recently, Damian attended the tangihanga for matua Angus and helped prepare Matua’s house to welcome Sonja and her family. These small acts of manaakitanga exemplify the type of person Damian is.

Kia au te moe e te rangatira. Kua hiki te mamae.

Moe mai, moe mai.

Waikaremoana Waitoki and Kyle Tan

16/12/2024

🥳 CONGRATULATIONS 🥳 to the following winners of University of Otago Psychology Academic Prizes in 2024. These students had the highest overall academic standings across their Psychology 100, 200, 300, or 400-level papers. Ka rawe! 🤩

Janet Ferguson Memorial Prize (PSYC100):
Emma McCusker

Dostoevsky Prize For Psychology (PSYC200):
Andy Heathcote

G. V. Goddard Prize in 300 level Psychology:
Connor Nicholls

T. P. H. McKellar Prize (PSYC400):
Guantian Chen