Indigenous Struggles
We provide culturally competent and compassionate counselling to all Indigenous individuals struggling with their mental health.
We use a combination of therapies, such as narrative therapy, EMDR, CBT, somatic approaches, and mindfulness to meet the unique mental health challenges faced by the Indigenous community. The injustices faced by Indigenous Peoples cannot be undone though counselling alone. However, culturally competent counselling may be a starting place for Indigenous Individuals to begin their healing journey.
What are some of the struggles facing Indigenous people?
Indigenous Peoples in Canada have a history of being brutalized, killed, denied rights, and looked down upon as second-class citizens.
The Govt. of Canada forcibly removed Indigenous Peoples from their lands, performed genocide against Indigenous groups, and took steps to forcibly assimilate Indigenous Peoples into White and Christian cultures (Hall, 1997).
Residential schools were a result of government policies that aimed to assimilate Indigenous children into Western society and eradicate Indigenous language and culture (Barnes & Josefowitz, 2019). While at residential schools, many Indigenous children experienced maltreatment, neglect, bullying, physical and sexual assault, and psychological abuse (Barnes & Josefowitz, 2019; Hackett et al., 2016).
