Rate My Professor Aroha de Bie

Aroha de Bie serves as a Registered Nurse in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Otago, Christchurch, within the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Division. She is also a Lecturer associated with the Māori/Indigenous Health Innovation (MIHI) research group at the University of Otago, Christchurch. MIHI is a research department dedicated to exploring Māori health inequities, building evidence for Māori health advancement, and contributing to undergraduate medical curricula focused on indigenous health. The group evaluates clinical models such as the Hui Process and Meihana Model and collaborates on projects addressing chronic kidney disease, heart health, respiratory disease, mental health, and broader Māori health initiatives. de Bie holds affiliations with Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand Waitaha Canterbury, supporting her clinical and research activities.

de Bie has made contributions to clinical research on novel treatments for treatment-resistant mental health disorders, particularly through involvement in ketamine-based trials. Key publications include the protocol for a randomised controlled trial comparing ketamine versus ketamine combined with behavioural activation therapy for adults with treatment-resistant depression, published in BMJ Open in 2024, where she assisted in refining the protocol and adapting the therapy for Māori patients. Other works co-authored by her are 'Ketamine for treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder: Double-blind, active-controlled randomised crossover study' in the Journal of Psychopharmacology (2024), 'Six weeks open-label oral ketamine for patients with treatment-resistant depression' in the Journal of Psychopharmacology (2025), and 'Ketamine for treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder: double-blind, active-controlled, randomised crossover study' in BJPsych Open (2025). She has been acknowledged for her crucial roles in studies examining the impact of activation therapy on cognition and overall outcomes in inpatients with major depression, as well as predicting cognitive changes during treatment for inpatient depression. Her work supports advancements in psychological medicine and indigenous health research at the University of Otago.