This presentation is based on a larger research project, which investigates the effectiveness of a culturally appropriate model, namely ūloa, when working with Pacific people experiencing mental distress. Ūloa is a communal method of fishing in Tonga, which includes all members of the community. This type of fishing is practiced throughout the Pacific and it is called yavirau in Fiji, lauloa in Samoa and hukilau in Hawaii. This paper reports on findings related to the increased awareness of ūloa model within the mental health services and to raise awareness of how to work with Pacific people and adjust the health service to suit the needs of this population to test its effectiveness. The research project used the Pacific research methodology of talanoa and the study population is the Pacific population in Aotearoa New Zealand and also from the Pacific region including Tonga, Niue and Fiji. These preliminary findings continue to support that the conventional biomedical approach employed in the mental health services overlooks elements of Pacific constructions of mental distress.