Ho'oponopono, "to make right": Hawaiian conflict resolution and metaphor in the construction of a family therapy.

It has been noted in the literature that community conflict resolution rituals have many structural and functional similarities to the goals and methods of psychotherapy. A Hawaiian form of conflict resolution called ho'oponopono ("to make right, orderly, correct") is a case where a conflict resolution format actually was used to create a culturally appropriate family therapy. This was done under the sponsorship of a Hawaiian social welfare organization with Hawaiian ancestry therapists. An important element in the transformation and usefulness of ho'oponopono as a Hawaiian therapy is the maintenance and incorporation of metaphoric understandings about the nature and dynamics of Hawaiian social relations.