Integrating Indigenous Healing and Western Counseling: Clinical Cases in Culturally Safe Practice

Abstract

Research has shown that effective counseling interventions for many Indigenous Peoples infuse Indigenous worldviews, values, and practices into treatment. Research has also shown that the use of mainstream or Western therapeutic interventions alone has often proved ineffective for Indigenous clients, as many Indigenous clients drop out of therapy or do not make use of Western counseling at all. In response, Indigenous mental health scholars have turned toward harmonized, or integrative, approaches to healing services for Indigenous clients, which combine the best of Western psychology and Indigenous medicine. However, clear examples of how such harmonization occurs at the ground level are needed, as these examples can assist mental health services in adopting integrative models in their own practice delivery. This chapter presents two such examples from counseling settings in Toronto, Ontario, that demonstrate the effectiveness of successful integration in the delivery of culturally safe mental health services for Indigenous clients. In sharing these case studies, this chapter details the context for this integrative healing movement and describes environments that can support the work of Indigenous Healers, Elders, and counselors, alongside Western practitioners. Recommendations for change in Western mental health services at the national, health agency, and individual practitioner levels are also presented.