Analogous to moving a tree to a new location, each part of the tree represents different aspects of a person’s life:

• the roots represent culture, beliefs and values
• the trunk represents what the person was born with (e.g. ethnicity, skin colour)
• the branches represent language ability and education
• the leaves represent achievements, social networks and friends
• the fruit represents health and well-being.

When a tree is moved, its roots may be damaged, and the tree can lose its leaves and produce no fruit. It takes time for the tree to form new feeding roots and to adapt to its new location before new leaves and fruit can grow. Asian people go through a similar process to accomplish their dreams of a better life in New Zealand (Asian Family Services 2017). AFS use the Integrated Tree Model to help Asian clients to discover and resolve problems, enabling them to ‘grow stronger roots’ and work towards health and well-being.

Harmony and balance are important concepts in Asian health values. These concepts are commonly expressed as Wuxing, or Five Elements, in traditional Chinese health beliefs. The Five Elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water; these elements are connected, and they maintain a dynamic balance through mutual promotion and mutual restriction. Illness is attributed to an upset of this balance.. AFS explore Asian clients’ traditional health beliefs to see if they may pose barriers to their utilisation of services, and then work to break down the barriers to achieve more effective communication and health interactions.

The Integrated Tree Model also provides a framework for AFS staff to look at the environment surrounding a person when attempting to minimise gambling harm (as shown in the outer circles in the model diagram). The “microsystem” refers to the person’s immediate physical and social environment such as house and family; the “mesosystem” refers to the essential social networks of the person such as school, workplace, groups and organisations; the “macrosystem” refers to societies or nations, policies and laws (Bronfenbrenner 1989).

Families have very great importance in Asian cultures as family harmony is central to achieving Asian well-being. The Integrated Tree Model portrays this where it joins clinical and public health approaches based on Asian cultural values. When clinical staff actively engage in public health activities in the language of the community, they build a rapport with potential clients, promote the acceptance of counselling and reduce the shame of seeking help to the Asian community. AFS use the Integrated Tree Model to expand the range and choice of services to be more holistic and culturally responsive for Asian communities.

• Holistic – Gambling is just the tip of the iceberg: Asian clients are helped to discover and resolve the problems underneath the water in order to achieve a state of harmonious balance between body, mind and nature.
• Respect – Respect for Asian cultural values and health beliefs helps to break down barriers to engage clients in services Recognition of stigma and shame – clients are assured that the service provided is completely confidential and private.
• Responsive – linguistically appropriate services are provided to ensure clients have a good understanding of what is discussed in the counselling room. AFS offer clinical interventions in 8 different languages.