Natasha Tassell-Matamua

Natasha is an Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Indigenous Psychologies in the School of Psychology at Massey University, Aotearoa New Zealand. She is of Indigenous Māori (Te Ātiawa), Cook Islands (Ngāti Makea) and Pākehā descent. She teaches about Indigenous Psychologies and established the first qualification in Indigenous Psychologies to be taught at any tertiary institution in Aotearoa New Zealand. For the past 15 years, she has researched in the very specialised area of near-death and other exceptional experiences of consciousness. She investigates and writes about the implications of such experiences for enhancing understandings about the nature of consciousness, as well as their interface with spirituality, the environment, and Indigenous knowledges. She has published extensively in the area, as well as providing numerous presentations both nationally and internationally. Natasha is on the Advisory Board for the International Association of Near-Death Studies, is a Board Member of the Academy for the Advancement of Post-Materialist Science, is an Associate Editor for EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing, and from January 2025 will be an Associate Editor for the journal Psychology of Consciousness.

Some of Natasha's recent work

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2024, 17 October). Near-death experiences: Myth or mystical? An interview on ABC Radio Australia’s God Forbid program. Australia. https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/godforbid/near-death-experiences-spirituality/104408142

Tassell-Matamua, N. (2024). Power and privilege in the study of near-death experiences. In The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in Spirituality and Contemplative Studies. (pp. 271 - 281).

Lindsay, N., Tassell-Matamua, N., O’Sullivan, L., & Gibson, R. (2024). Trauma or Transcendence? The relationship between near-death experiences and dreaming. Dreaming.

Roehrs, P., Fenwick, P., Greyson, B., Kellehear, A., Kothe, K., Nahm, M., Roe, C., Tassell-Matamua, N. A., & Woollacott, M. (2024). Terminal lucidity in a pediatric oncology clinic. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 212(1), 57-60.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2023, 11 September). Near-death experiences. An expert feature on the Jesse Mulligan Afternoons Show. New Zealand.

Lindsay, N., Sullivan, L., Gibson, R., Ladyman, C., Tassell-Matamua, N. (2023). Near-death experiences and sleep disturbance: An exploratory study using wrist actigraphy. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 211(11), 856-861.

Tassell-Matamua, N., MacDonald-Nepe Apatu, K., Moriarty, T.R. & Tahuri, T. (2023). Indigenous Māori notions of consciousness, soul and spirit. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 30(5-6), 151-165.

Tassell-Matamua, N., Lindsay, N., & Winterbottom, J. (2022). Why near-death experiences (NDEs) matter to psychology: An exploration of Aotearoa New Zealand psychologists’ knowledge of NDEs and implications for professional practice. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 40(3), 177-199.

Tassell-Matamua, N. (2022). Indigenous knowledges and the nature of consciousness. Paradigm Explorer, 139, 11-14.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2022). Dying to be green. The implications of near-death experiences (NDEs) for the greening of death. In R. McManus (Ed.), Sustainable dead: Searching for the intolerable (pp. 155-169). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2022). “I’m not ready yet”. In M. Woollacott & D. Lorimer (Eds.), Spiritual Awakenings: Scientists and academics describe their experiences. Volume III, Postmaterialist Sciences Series (pp. 197-199). AAPS Press.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A., Lindsay, N., Moriarty, T. R., & Haami, D. (2022). Indigenous Māori notions of spirit and spirituality as enablers of resilience and flourishing in Aotearoa New Zealand. In H. Weaver (Ed.), The Routledge international handbook of Indigenous resilience. Routledge.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A., & Holden, J. M. (2020). Near-death experiences: the mystical feeling of ‘crossing over’ and its impact on faith and spirituality. In K. Vail & C. Routledge (Eds.), The Science of Religion, Spirituality and Existentialism (pp. 51-66). Elsevier.

Lindsay, N., & Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2020). Subjective sleep quality after a near-death experience. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 38(2), 65-86. https://doi.org/10.17514/JNDS-2020-38-2-p65-86.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A., & Lindsay, N. (2020). Impartiality as an obligation in NDE research. Response to near-death experiences: To the edge of the universe. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 27(11-12), 237-243.

Lindsay, N., Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2020). Near-death experiences and afterlife belief: A mixed-method analysis. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 13(3), 304-313. https://doi.org/10.1037/rel0000303

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2019). Dying for acceptance: Learning about near-death experiences to facilitate growth for those with life-limiting illnesses in Aotearoa New Zealand. In R. McManus, J. Cornwall, & S. Raudon (Eds), Death Down Under: An Anthology of Death in Australasia (pp. 204-211). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A., & Frewin, K. (2019). Psycho-spiritual transformation after an exceptional human experience. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 21(4), 237-258. https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2018.1481487

Tassell-Matamua, N. A., Steadman, K., & Frewin, K. (2018). Does cultural context influence descriptions of change after a near-death experience? Exploratory findings from an Aotearoa New Zealand sample. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 36(4), 193-218. https://doi.org/10.17514/JNDS-2018-36-4-p193-218.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A., & Lindsay, N. (2017). Undergraduate psychology students’ knowledge and attitudes about near-death experiences: Does education about NDEs make a difference? Journal of Near-Death Studies, 36(1), 27-52. https://doi.org/10.17514/JNDS-2017-36-1-p27-52.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A., Lindsay, N., Bennett, S., Valentine, H., & Pahina, J. (2017). Does learning about near-death experiences promote psycho-spiritual benefits in those who have not had a near-death experience? Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 19(2), 95-115. https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2016.1206844

Tassell-Matamua, N. A., & Steadman, K. L. (2017). I feel more spiritual. Increased spirituality after a near-death experience. Journal for the Study of Spirituality, 7(1), 35-49. https://doi.org/10.1080/20440243.2017.1290030

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2017, 16 May). Do we fear death less after a ‘near-death experience’? An interview for the podcast Who Cares? What’s the Point? New Zealand.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2017, 14 March). Near-death experiences. A live media interview on the AM Show. New Zealand.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A., & Lindsay, N. (2016). “I’m not afraid to die.” The loss of the fear of death after a near-death experience. Mortality, 21(1), 71-87.  https://doi.org/10.1080/13576275.2015.1043252

Tassell-Matamua, N. A., & McCormick, B. M. E. (2016). After-death communication: A typology of therapeutic benefits. Journal of Near- Death Studies, 34(3), 151-172. https://doi.org/10.17514/JNDS-2016-34-3-p151-172.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2016). Opening remarks. In A. de Foe (Ed.), Consciousness beyond the body. Evidence and reflections. Centre for Exceptional Human Potential.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2015). Of love and light: A case report of end-of-life experiences. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 34(1), 5-26. https://doi.org/10.17514/JNDS-2015-34-1-p5-26.

Holden, J. M., Tassell-Matamua, N. A., & Ghasemmiannejad, A. (2015, 10 September). Near-death experiences across cultures. Invited interview for Skeptiko.com. USA.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2015, 22 May). Near-death experiences. What it feels like to die. Invited article for the Independent Online. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/neardeath-experiences-what-it-feels-like-to-die-10249700.html

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2015, 8 February). Confronting death. Invited article for the Doctus Project.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A., & Murray, M. (2014). Near-death experiences: Quantitative findings from an Aotearoa New Zealand sample. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 33 (1), 3-29. https://doi.org/10.17514/JNDS-2014-33-1-p3-29.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2014). Defining death: The challenge posed by near-death experiences. In C. McAllum & M. Gorman (Eds.), Mapping the perimeter of death and dying (pp. 39-50). Brill.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2014, 5 November). Near-death experiences. Invited interview on ABC Perth Radio.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2014, 30 October). Near-death experiences. Invited interview on ABC Gold Coast Radio.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2014, 29 October). Death isn’t scary – if you’ve had a near-death experience. Invited article for The Conversation. Australia.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2013). Phenomenology of near-death experiences: An analysis of a Māori case study. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 32, 107-117. https://doi.org/10.17514/JNDS-2013-32-2-p107-117.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2013). Psychology and near-death experiences: Challenges to and opportunities for ongoing debates about consciousness. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 20(11-12), 150-172.

Tassell-Matamua, N. A. (2013). Near-death experiences and the psychology of death. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 68(3), 259-277. https://doi.org/10.2190/om.68.3.e

Tassell, N. A. (2012). Near-death experiences across cultures. Journal for International Perspectives, 4, 30.

Tassell, N. A. (2011, 4 September). Life after death. A media interview shown on TV3 60 Minutes program. New Zealand.