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Decolonizing Trauma Work: Indigenous Stories and Strategies
In Decolonizing Trauma Work, Renee Linklater explores healing and wellness in Indigenous communities on Turtle Island. Drawing on a decolonizing approach, Linklater engages ten Indigenous health care practitioners in a dialogue regarding Indigenous worldviews, notions of wellness and wholistic health, critiques of psychiatry and psychiatric diagnoses, and Indigenous approaches to helping people through trauma, depression and experiences of parallel and multiple realities. Linklater offers purposeful and practical methods to help individuals and communities that have experienced trauma, through stories and strategies that are grounded in Indigenous worldviews and embedded with cultural knowledge. Decolonizing Trauma Work, one of the first books of its kind, is a resource for education and training programs, health care practitioners, healing centres, clinical services and policy initiatives.
176 pages, Paperback
First published May 15, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
April 11, 2021
There’s good content in this, but I wish the style was decolonized. I hate the dry, tedious academic form, designed by the white male institutions to limit the audience and keep social class structures inaccessible, especially for those coming from low income backgrounds or areas where different dialects are spoken. There’s something so sad about seeing this topic in that particular style.
The book read as a literature review and then a series of case studies for a graduate thesis. It wasn’t really what I expected. I had hoped to get insight into indigenous cultures, alongside an understanding of the links between colonization, capitalism, white supremacy, and trauma, and I’d hope to get insight into healing practices from a non-western perspective. Instead, this gave some brief insights into the links of colonization and trauma while interviewing indigenous practitioners who have been trained by the western academia institutions who practice in native communities. It studies how their practices may differ from western white practitioners and how there is a blend of traditional practices. There’s not much in the way of explaining these traditional practices: there’s frequent mentions of sweat lodges and spiritual practice, but not much more information than that. The academic form gets repetitive, and it became a slog to finish. (And I’m an English professor who is forced to teach, read, and sometimes—though I resist it at all costs—write in this form: I just hate the unbearable whiteness of it—it’s the type of writing that feels least alive to me.)
That being said, the audience for this book seems to be primarily white academics studying the field of psychology and trauma work. This book would give some sense of cultural competency.
The book read as a literature review and then a series of case studies for a graduate thesis. It wasn’t really what I expected. I had hoped to get insight into indigenous cultures, alongside an understanding of the links between colonization, capitalism, white supremacy, and trauma, and I’d hope to get insight into healing practices from a non-western perspective. Instead, this gave some brief insights into the links of colonization and trauma while interviewing indigenous practitioners who have been trained by the western academia institutions who practice in native communities. It studies how their practices may differ from western white practitioners and how there is a blend of traditional practices. There’s not much in the way of explaining these traditional practices: there’s frequent mentions of sweat lodges and spiritual practice, but not much more information than that. The academic form gets repetitive, and it became a slog to finish. (And I’m an English professor who is forced to teach, read, and sometimes—though I resist it at all costs—write in this form: I just hate the unbearable whiteness of it—it’s the type of writing that feels least alive to me.)
That being said, the audience for this book seems to be primarily white academics studying the field of psychology and trauma work. This book would give some sense of cultural competency.
February 6, 2022
“Decolonizing Trauma Work” critiques Western approaches to mental healthcare and seeks to advance a holistic, mind-body-spirit approach to wellness that takes into account the ongoing impacts of colonization on Indigenous communities. I appreciated that this book didn’t necessarily outline specific healing modalities and practices; Linklater shares that the goal is not for non-Indigenous practitioners in Western institutions to incorporate (read: co-opt) Indigenous practices, but for more practitioners to understand the importance of history and relationships in supporting people in healing and to learn how to work alongside cultural and spiritual workers. That said, it does make the book’s subtitle seem misleading. Ultimately, I gave the book 4 stars instead of 3 because, as someone who has had several family members diagnosed with schizophrenia, I really appreciated the concept of multiple or parallel realities, and the approach of believing people about their experiences and meeting them where they’re at rather than pathologizing or dismissing them. My critiques are that I’d be interested in hearing queer and trans Indigenous people’s experiences/responses to some of the commentary in Chapter 3 about feminism and gender roles, and I would have in general liked to see Black, queer, and trans Indigenous people’s experiences represented.
I’d recommend this book to practitioners (therapists, social workers, etc) who have been/are being trained in Western institutions, and seek to understand wellness in a more expansive way.
I’d recommend this book to practitioners (therapists, social workers, etc) who have been/are being trained in Western institutions, and seek to understand wellness in a more expansive way.
October 6, 2018
This book reads like a graduate thesis, which for me wasn’t too challenging as I enjoy reading academic papers but I gotta say that makes it pretty inaccessible. The font size is tiny and there are in-text citations every other sentence it seems. I took off one star Bc it’s readability is 👎🏼
As for the content, wow...incredible. I work at an alternative peer respite and we try out best to break down the pathology of human emotion and experience as the western medical model of “mental health” is so fond of doing and this book was spot on with that. A decolonized approach with healing justice focused on the very specific experiences of indigenous people and their pain, struggles, and oppression under white supremacy. I had no idea that many tribes’ cultural practices were made illegal...it disgusts me and doesn’t surprise me. That’s just one of the many disturbing things I learned about the way the state treats First Nations people.
There’s a plethora of examples given in this book which demonstrate how indigenous people are creative and resilient as hell. As is not surprising to me at this point...when you treat people like people, and get curious about what they have been through instead of turning them/their experience into “symptoms” and “disorders”, people do better...they actually heal. There’s a whole section about medication & psychiatry still being useful to an extent but this book really advocates for something different, a deeply cultural approach. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to read this book.
As for the content, wow...incredible. I work at an alternative peer respite and we try out best to break down the pathology of human emotion and experience as the western medical model of “mental health” is so fond of doing and this book was spot on with that. A decolonized approach with healing justice focused on the very specific experiences of indigenous people and their pain, struggles, and oppression under white supremacy. I had no idea that many tribes’ cultural practices were made illegal...it disgusts me and doesn’t surprise me. That’s just one of the many disturbing things I learned about the way the state treats First Nations people.
There’s a plethora of examples given in this book which demonstrate how indigenous people are creative and resilient as hell. As is not surprising to me at this point...when you treat people like people, and get curious about what they have been through instead of turning them/their experience into “symptoms” and “disorders”, people do better...they actually heal. There’s a whole section about medication & psychiatry still being useful to an extent but this book really advocates for something different, a deeply cultural approach. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to read this book.
September 13, 2021
Full disclosure that Dr. Renee Linklater is a colleague of mine, though we don't work together directly. This book is based on her dissertation. As such, the book can be a little dry at times (especially Chapter 2 which is a literature review dealing mostly with how colonialism has affected the mental health of Indigenous people), which is really my only criticism.
This is a solid book providing invaluable direction for the change our mental health system and ideas of care desperately need. I think that both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people would benefit from the kinds of wholistic models to care Renee describes.
The book starts with Renee's description of her own mental health crisis and how she used traditional spiritual practices and re-connection to community (she is a 60s scoop survivor) to heal. Her story set important context for the rest of the book. The prologue where she tells her story, and the chapters covering her original research were the most interesting. As part of her research, Renee interviews Indigenous mental health practitioners (social workers, Traditional Healers, psychologists and psychiatrists) about their practices and how they use Indigenous cultural methods and/or combine them with methods from western psychology and/or psychiatry. My favourite part was reading about Sylvia Marcos's work - she worked with anti-psychiatrists R.D. Laing and David Cooper in the 70s in their therapeutic communities and created something similar in Mexico, but a community and culture-based model where people experiencing mental distress or parallel realities lived with families who were part of this initiative (155).
My main take-aways
- In Indigenous cultures there is a holistic view of health and healing whereas in western cultures we tend to focus on the individual. To heal, the most important thing, in many cases, for Indigenous people experiencing mental distress, is to be able to connect to family, community, the land and all its living things, culture, and spirituality. It is often disconnection (through intergenerational trauma, colonization) that is behind distress. "Therapy" processes in an Indigenous context often involve family and community as well as the individual.
- The mental health system needs to be open to ways of understanding the experiences we label mental illness outside of the western medical model, and to take seriously Indigenous cultural understandings such as the influence of bad medicine (15), blocked spirit channels (84), windigo sickness (124) or experiences of multiple or parallel realities/seeing visions (123, 147). Working to understand these experiences with an Elder, Healer or Traditional Knowledge Keeper and/or doing ceremony to heal/let go can help someone. Traditional healing/processing can be in addition to medication and other western treatment modalities, or in lieu of these, as diagnosis and medication can cause harm to people who find cultural and spiritual meaning in these experiences. They aren't always just an illness to be cured.
- Just because a Healer, Elder, social worker etc. is Indigenous doesn't mean that what they have to offer is culturally appropriate for any Indigenous client. Although there are some similarities across Indigenous cultures, a Cree client needs Cree helpers. There needs to be a shift in both education for helping professionals where Indigenous ways of knowing/doing are equally valued and taught and capacity for culturally-appropriate care is built, and in the mental health system where there isn't one token Indigenous service provider who is supposed to meet the needs of a diverse group of Indigenous clients.
- Cultural programs aren't recreational or a "nice-to-have." They are an essential treatment offering.
- Relationships might look different between Indigenous people and Indigenous Healers and they may interact outside of the western therapeutic relationship model that is confined to an office. Often 'therapy' might involve going out on the land, visiting communities, each other's homes, etc.
- As DSM diagnoses are not always helpful or culturally appropriate for Indigenous people; funding models that rely on client diagnoses need to change.
- Not all Indigenous people want a traditional/cultural approach to healing. Care should be directed by the person receiving care.
This is a solid book providing invaluable direction for the change our mental health system and ideas of care desperately need. I think that both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people would benefit from the kinds of wholistic models to care Renee describes.
The book starts with Renee's description of her own mental health crisis and how she used traditional spiritual practices and re-connection to community (she is a 60s scoop survivor) to heal. Her story set important context for the rest of the book. The prologue where she tells her story, and the chapters covering her original research were the most interesting. As part of her research, Renee interviews Indigenous mental health practitioners (social workers, Traditional Healers, psychologists and psychiatrists) about their practices and how they use Indigenous cultural methods and/or combine them with methods from western psychology and/or psychiatry. My favourite part was reading about Sylvia Marcos's work - she worked with anti-psychiatrists R.D. Laing and David Cooper in the 70s in their therapeutic communities and created something similar in Mexico, but a community and culture-based model where people experiencing mental distress or parallel realities lived with families who were part of this initiative (155).
My main take-aways
- In Indigenous cultures there is a holistic view of health and healing whereas in western cultures we tend to focus on the individual. To heal, the most important thing, in many cases, for Indigenous people experiencing mental distress, is to be able to connect to family, community, the land and all its living things, culture, and spirituality. It is often disconnection (through intergenerational trauma, colonization) that is behind distress. "Therapy" processes in an Indigenous context often involve family and community as well as the individual.
- The mental health system needs to be open to ways of understanding the experiences we label mental illness outside of the western medical model, and to take seriously Indigenous cultural understandings such as the influence of bad medicine (15), blocked spirit channels (84), windigo sickness (124) or experiences of multiple or parallel realities/seeing visions (123, 147). Working to understand these experiences with an Elder, Healer or Traditional Knowledge Keeper and/or doing ceremony to heal/let go can help someone. Traditional healing/processing can be in addition to medication and other western treatment modalities, or in lieu of these, as diagnosis and medication can cause harm to people who find cultural and spiritual meaning in these experiences. They aren't always just an illness to be cured.
- Just because a Healer, Elder, social worker etc. is Indigenous doesn't mean that what they have to offer is culturally appropriate for any Indigenous client. Although there are some similarities across Indigenous cultures, a Cree client needs Cree helpers. There needs to be a shift in both education for helping professionals where Indigenous ways of knowing/doing are equally valued and taught and capacity for culturally-appropriate care is built, and in the mental health system where there isn't one token Indigenous service provider who is supposed to meet the needs of a diverse group of Indigenous clients.
- Cultural programs aren't recreational or a "nice-to-have." They are an essential treatment offering.
- Relationships might look different between Indigenous people and Indigenous Healers and they may interact outside of the western therapeutic relationship model that is confined to an office. Often 'therapy' might involve going out on the land, visiting communities, each other's homes, etc.
- As DSM diagnoses are not always helpful or culturally appropriate for Indigenous people; funding models that rely on client diagnoses need to change.
- Not all Indigenous people want a traditional/cultural approach to healing. Care should be directed by the person receiving care.
August 1, 2025
While the intent of the book is deeply important—centering Indigenous perspectives in healing—it didn’t quite deliver what I had hoped for. *shrug* I was looking for a deeper dive into non-Western healing frameworks, insight into more specific Indigenous cultural practices, and a more critical unpacking of how colonization, capitalism, and white supremacy intertwine with trauma, and maybe even exacerbate trauma responses/reactions.
Instead, the book kinda focuses more on Indigenous practitioners who have been trained in Western institutions, working within or alongside Indigenous communities; and ways they've had to adjust or completely bypass their learnings.
There are frequent mentions of traditional practices like utilization of sweat lodges and spirituality exploration, but without much elaboration or expansion... It left me wanting more detail about the actual shape, structure, and cultural grounding of these healing practices—what they feel like, how they operate outside of a white lens, and how they might resist dominant paradigms rather than blend with them.
Writing style and tone (? is this the word I'm looking for??) is also repetitive at times and can feel distancing, especially for people looking for a more grounded or narrative-driven approach. While it’s important that Indigenous practitioners are being documented and validated in this way, it still felt filtered through a Western academic lens.
I also didn't feel the best about the narrow view of gender, with some generalized statements about roles and norms that, at times, felt stereotypical? And the complete absence of any mention of Two-Spirit, trans, or nonbinary individuals felt like an oversight—especially in a text about trauma and healing in Indigenous communities, where gender diversity has long existed and held sacred meaning.
That said, the author's effort to foreground Indigenous voices in the mental health field is admirable, and the inclusion of practitioner interviews does offer valuable glimpses into how Indigenous knowledge is surviving and adapting within colonial systems.
I personally think this book would serve as a good entry point—but it’s not the expansive or culturally rich resource some *coughmecough* may expect.
Instead, the book kinda focuses more on Indigenous practitioners who have been trained in Western institutions, working within or alongside Indigenous communities; and ways they've had to adjust or completely bypass their learnings.
There are frequent mentions of traditional practices like utilization of sweat lodges and spirituality exploration, but without much elaboration or expansion... It left me wanting more detail about the actual shape, structure, and cultural grounding of these healing practices—what they feel like, how they operate outside of a white lens, and how they might resist dominant paradigms rather than blend with them.
Writing style and tone (? is this the word I'm looking for??) is also repetitive at times and can feel distancing, especially for people looking for a more grounded or narrative-driven approach. While it’s important that Indigenous practitioners are being documented and validated in this way, it still felt filtered through a Western academic lens.
I also didn't feel the best about the narrow view of gender, with some generalized statements about roles and norms that, at times, felt stereotypical? And the complete absence of any mention of Two-Spirit, trans, or nonbinary individuals felt like an oversight—especially in a text about trauma and healing in Indigenous communities, where gender diversity has long existed and held sacred meaning.
That said, the author's effort to foreground Indigenous voices in the mental health field is admirable, and the inclusion of practitioner interviews does offer valuable glimpses into how Indigenous knowledge is surviving and adapting within colonial systems.
I personally think this book would serve as a good entry point—but it’s not the expansive or culturally rich resource some *coughmecough* may expect.
August 18, 2021
I learned so much from this book. Renee Linklater explores how colonization impacts the health and wellbeing of Indigenous people as well as how colonization influences the strategies and practices available for healing. Dr. Linklater tells stories of Indigenous healers and their perspectives on trauma and healing, and it is fascinating, insightful, and thorough.
Dr. Linklater says "there simply is not a melting pot of traditions among Indigenous nations." She does a beautiful job of drawing out themes and connections while telling stories about the unique perspective of those she spoke with for her research. There are also some specific strategies and great takeaways for clinicians and agencies, while at the same time Dr. Linklater honors the protection of specific Indigenous ceremonies by not describing them in detail.
I also learned so much from the Indigenous research methods that she uses and how she positions herself and her story within the text. If you are a counselor, clinician, researcher, or just someone interested in broadening your understanding of healing: read this.
Dr. Linklater says "there simply is not a melting pot of traditions among Indigenous nations." She does a beautiful job of drawing out themes and connections while telling stories about the unique perspective of those she spoke with for her research. There are also some specific strategies and great takeaways for clinicians and agencies, while at the same time Dr. Linklater honors the protection of specific Indigenous ceremonies by not describing them in detail.
I also learned so much from the Indigenous research methods that she uses and how she positions herself and her story within the text. If you are a counselor, clinician, researcher, or just someone interested in broadening your understanding of healing: read this.
May 17, 2022
Linklater shows how the categories of mainstream therapy are founded on a euro-centric and white perspective of the human self. She also shows how helpful traditional cultural healing practices are for indigenous people. I was fascinated by the swing therapy that one indigenous practitioner developed and uses to help people connect with their personal histories of trauma. It is a somatic modality of therapy that would be tremendously helpful for anxious and dis-regulated persons.
The wisdom and tenacity of all the indigenous practitioners interviewed here is hard wrought through deep understanding of their own particular cultural backgrounds and experiences. Majority culture therapists, doctors, pastors, chaplains and others need to grow in their understanding and respect of Indigenous people's history and healing traditions.
The wisdom and tenacity of all the indigenous practitioners interviewed here is hard wrought through deep understanding of their own particular cultural backgrounds and experiences. Majority culture therapists, doctors, pastors, chaplains and others need to grow in their understanding and respect of Indigenous people's history and healing traditions.
August 27, 2025
This was a good read. Renee Linklater centres the “soul wound” of colonialism and shares stories from Indigenous health practitioners that highlight wholistic, culturally grounded approaches to healing. I appreciated the insights and strategies, but at times it felt more like an academic resource than an engaging read. A solid contribution, especially for those working in health care or community spaces.
November 3, 2022
This is the first assigned reading/text in my entire 4 years of undergraduate studies that I have read in its entirety. This is a very important text for anyone interested in the helping fields, and will be a book that stays with me through my own journey of developing my therapeutic practice.
4.5 stars
4.5 stars
June 10, 2021
I found it a very interesting read. I dont do any trauma work but I found it helpful to develop a better understanding of the trauma of colonizing
September 9, 2025
excellent. i love that even the structure challenged colonized academia by being rooted in story and experience. many important pieces in this book for both my work and my own healing journey
September 16, 2024
Includes such important information and knowledge.
Style is dry and slightly tedious at points, but shows the depth of research.
Style is dry and slightly tedious at points, but shows the depth of research.
November 16, 2019
I read this in preparation for submitting a MSW proposal, and this should be foundational for every social worker, but it has a readability and could definitely appeal to readers without academic purpose. Linklater does a good job of setting the reader up for understanding the histories of colonization and the continued impacts on wellness of Indigenous peoples. Linklater shares Indigenous strategies in helping and healing, premised in prayer, love, spiritual connection, relationships, and cultural and ceremonial resources - all in a way for various audiences to understand and connect with.
April 26, 2019
This was a really important book, and I hope that it becomes standard in psychology classes and programs. It's both academic and approachable. It gave me a lot to think about; I appreciated especially that Linklater provides a chapter that relies heavily on stories by practitioners in the field. I hope to see more works like this coming from indigenous scholars of all fields.
November 30, 2021
The medical model is some bullshit.
May 22, 2022
Really good information but super repetitive.
December 21, 2024
4.5*. Very important. Well written. Useful.
40 In getting to the root of addiction and its consequences, Mate explains that the question is never “why the addiction? but why the pain?” (2009:34).
[…] McCormick suggests that for many Aboriginal people “consumption of alcohol has been their attempt to deal with the state of powerlessness and hopelessness that has arisen due to the devastation of traditional cultural values” (2009: 348).
84 As Janice S. explains, “Our Spirit talks to our heart, and our heart speaks to our mind, and our mind speaks to our body.” She elaborates on the process of unblocking the channels and understanding the interconnectedness of our beings:
“If those channels aren’t clear, we can do that [open or clear channels] by fasting, we can do that by sweating, we can do that by prayer, and we can do that by taking care of ourselves and keep those channels open so our Spirit can talk to the Spirit -the Greater Spirit. [This is] all to do with collective knowledge, heart knowledge and blood knowledge, and when we’re in tune, that all works. So, I work with individuals to help them understand that it’s really their Spirit that’s asking them to look for help, to reach out.
88 “[We have been] exposing them [to culture], starting the drum group, teaching them dancing, beading, bringing them to powwows and bringing them out to the different reservations.” Carrie reveals, “It’s just amazing what it’s done instead of traditional psychotherapy.” […]
As we continue along our journey, it has become apparent that our individual and collective survival is strongly influenced by our access to cultural knowledge and participation within Indigenous communities.
89 Carol Hopkins, Executive Director for the National Native Addictions Partnership Foundation, shares that “the client is the individual plus his or her community and the treatment goal is to seek re-connection to family and others” […]
92 […] healing often must recognize the entire community as the group receiving treatment: “Individually focused models of treatment, such as behavioral therapy approaches fall far short of addressing the complex relationship issues that must be attended to if significant and lasting changes are to be effected” […]
114 Sylvia clearly articulated that she doesn't use psychiatric diagnoses or “terms such as schizophrenia, depression, manic or bipolar." Instead, she proceeds to work with the individual to understand their personal story:
What you want to know is how can this person pull their self together again? Where are the pressures coming from? Where is the anguish? Where did she get entangled in earlier years in some kind of suffering that made her dissociate? How did she get alienated from herself that she needs to have two selves?
Sylvia concludes that "this is often caused by very intense suffering, intolerable and sustained anguish." She advocates that healing requires the person to “go back to that time and try to resolve that anguish. As she puts forth, " It is my experience that slowły they will come back together again” and that "we don’t need psychiatric labels." Sylvia and other Indigenous practitioners seek to understand the experiences of the person and help them find healing in resolve of their turmoil, rather than remain entrenched in diagnoses and pathology.
117 Essentially, the responses that are a result of colonial experiences, including the residential school system, will be best tended to by perspectives and methods that place Indigenous peoples on a continuum of wellness, rather than illness.
125 As Ross argues, “Even if strictly western treatment approaches proved capable of relieving people from individually-experienced trauma, they cannot hope to touch the deeper socio-cultural demons that haunt so many people” (2010:15). Indigenous healing begins with the Spirit.
135 Janice S. acknowledges that when a person has experienced trauma, hurt and pain, the Spirit has a hard crusty shell around it: “We need to take that hard crusty shell away from that spirit so it can be talking to our heart, our mind and our body …. I also talk about love. Love is what will help you crack that hard crusty shell.” Bent notes that love is one of the sacred teachings as spoken from the Elders (2004:10). McCormick advocates that the definition of health and healing must be expanded to include components such as love, belonging, and balance. (1995:252)
158 […] decolonizing has a dual meaning. First, it emphasizes the need to challenge the mainstream disciplines of psychiatry and psychology and their influences on healing and wellness in our communities. Second, it advances principles of self-determination and community control in regards to Indigenous health in the context of healing.
161 It is interesting to note that the practitioners did not specifically talk about certain decolonizing trauma work concepts, such as Duran’s (1998, 2006) theory of the soul wound. However, they clearly discussed the effects of soul wounding and incorporated practices that provided healing in a cultural context.
153 “instant” Elders
40 In getting to the root of addiction and its consequences, Mate explains that the question is never “why the addiction? but why the pain?” (2009:34).
[…] McCormick suggests that for many Aboriginal people “consumption of alcohol has been their attempt to deal with the state of powerlessness and hopelessness that has arisen due to the devastation of traditional cultural values” (2009: 348).
84 As Janice S. explains, “Our Spirit talks to our heart, and our heart speaks to our mind, and our mind speaks to our body.” She elaborates on the process of unblocking the channels and understanding the interconnectedness of our beings:
“If those channels aren’t clear, we can do that [open or clear channels] by fasting, we can do that by sweating, we can do that by prayer, and we can do that by taking care of ourselves and keep those channels open so our Spirit can talk to the Spirit -the Greater Spirit. [This is] all to do with collective knowledge, heart knowledge and blood knowledge, and when we’re in tune, that all works. So, I work with individuals to help them understand that it’s really their Spirit that’s asking them to look for help, to reach out.
88 “[We have been] exposing them [to culture], starting the drum group, teaching them dancing, beading, bringing them to powwows and bringing them out to the different reservations.” Carrie reveals, “It’s just amazing what it’s done instead of traditional psychotherapy.” […]
As we continue along our journey, it has become apparent that our individual and collective survival is strongly influenced by our access to cultural knowledge and participation within Indigenous communities.
89 Carol Hopkins, Executive Director for the National Native Addictions Partnership Foundation, shares that “the client is the individual plus his or her community and the treatment goal is to seek re-connection to family and others” […]
92 […] healing often must recognize the entire community as the group receiving treatment: “Individually focused models of treatment, such as behavioral therapy approaches fall far short of addressing the complex relationship issues that must be attended to if significant and lasting changes are to be effected” […]
114 Sylvia clearly articulated that she doesn't use psychiatric diagnoses or “terms such as schizophrenia, depression, manic or bipolar." Instead, she proceeds to work with the individual to understand their personal story:
What you want to know is how can this person pull their self together again? Where are the pressures coming from? Where is the anguish? Where did she get entangled in earlier years in some kind of suffering that made her dissociate? How did she get alienated from herself that she needs to have two selves?
Sylvia concludes that "this is often caused by very intense suffering, intolerable and sustained anguish." She advocates that healing requires the person to “go back to that time and try to resolve that anguish. As she puts forth, " It is my experience that slowły they will come back together again” and that "we don’t need psychiatric labels." Sylvia and other Indigenous practitioners seek to understand the experiences of the person and help them find healing in resolve of their turmoil, rather than remain entrenched in diagnoses and pathology.
117 Essentially, the responses that are a result of colonial experiences, including the residential school system, will be best tended to by perspectives and methods that place Indigenous peoples on a continuum of wellness, rather than illness.
125 As Ross argues, “Even if strictly western treatment approaches proved capable of relieving people from individually-experienced trauma, they cannot hope to touch the deeper socio-cultural demons that haunt so many people” (2010:15). Indigenous healing begins with the Spirit.
135 Janice S. acknowledges that when a person has experienced trauma, hurt and pain, the Spirit has a hard crusty shell around it: “We need to take that hard crusty shell away from that spirit so it can be talking to our heart, our mind and our body …. I also talk about love. Love is what will help you crack that hard crusty shell.” Bent notes that love is one of the sacred teachings as spoken from the Elders (2004:10). McCormick advocates that the definition of health and healing must be expanded to include components such as love, belonging, and balance. (1995:252)
158 […] decolonizing has a dual meaning. First, it emphasizes the need to challenge the mainstream disciplines of psychiatry and psychology and their influences on healing and wellness in our communities. Second, it advances principles of self-determination and community control in regards to Indigenous health in the context of healing.
161 It is interesting to note that the practitioners did not specifically talk about certain decolonizing trauma work concepts, such as Duran’s (1998, 2006) theory of the soul wound. However, they clearly discussed the effects of soul wounding and incorporated practices that provided healing in a cultural context.
153 “instant” Elders
January 18, 2024
When I first started reading the book it felt very academic to me, I suspect this was a part of a dissertation or thesis and some elements of that format and structure remained when it started to get written as a book. But once I got through the first chapter, the flow was much more conversational and storytelling focused. I appreciated hearing the different perspectives and approaches shared by the group of practitioners interviewed for the book. I found myself underlining lots of sections that spoke to me and my work. Overall, I appreciated reading it and would recommend to other therapists looking for indigenous perspectives on healing but not an instruction manual.
October 22, 2022
4.25 and definitely worth owning! The book is useful way of thinking about how to engage with and honor the culturally-specific healing practices of Indigenous Communities - FOR AND BY Indigenous Communities and not to be co-opted by white practitioners or advocates. The information is excellent and also very academic, so it takes time to finish it and really absorb the repercussions of cultural oppression and colonization on healing from trauma.
February 24, 2024
It was pretty well written and informative, but I thought that the organizational structure of the book could have been improved. I am not usually nitpicky about that sort of detail, but in this case I felt that revisions could have added clarity to the information shared, as well making the book more impactful. Regardless, I sincerely enjoyed the entire book and would recommend it to other clinicians.
May 10, 2025
A brilliant, layered piece of research. It complements what I have been learning about in my Indigenous studies classes, and adds richness to the cultural humility monologues taking place in my head. I appreciate the reminder that we are more than our symptoms or behaviours, and often the bulk of our healing is done in relationship to others, nature, and ourselves. A beautiful book I will refer to many times.
June 12, 2025
1.75 stars.
This could have been an article rather than a book. It repeated content on every other page and conveyed it in a dry and boring manner. The extra .75 star is for the content I will carry with me in my therapeutic practice, I respect and appreciate the representation. But the repetitive and academic writing read as an article rather than an information packed enjoyable book that I was hoping for.
This could have been an article rather than a book. It repeated content on every other page and conveyed it in a dry and boring manner. The extra .75 star is for the content I will carry with me in my therapeutic practice, I respect and appreciate the representation. But the repetitive and academic writing read as an article rather than an information packed enjoyable book that I was hoping for.
November 10, 2021
In trauma work, the epistemologies and ideologies of Western colonialism seem to dominate. As Western medicine and rationalism encounter non-European/Anglo North American spiritualities and reimaginings of Western spiritualities, trauma work has to be decolonized. This is a fantastic book for spiritual leaders, spiritual caretakers, and pastoral caregivers.
June 29, 2022
I really enjoyed Linklater's book. She brought a refreshing perspective on how our health system fails the Indigenous communities around us and the structural injustices built within the system. The book is not preachy, but passionate in comprehending a perspective that is not Western and helps you to understand where Western psychology has stemmed from and why it is not helping us today.
November 28, 2019
so beautifully written.
as a health care provider working near a reserve, it was interesting to learn about the different techniques and strategies that were used throughout turtle island. definitely makes me more mindful.
as a health care provider working near a reserve, it was interesting to learn about the different techniques and strategies that were used throughout turtle island. definitely makes me more mindful.
October 8, 2023
I liked the argument for rejecting some Western approaches to mental health and healing. I wish Linklater articulated more dramatic suggestions for improvement of our health care system through integration of Indigenous healing, teaching, and medicine practices.
December 21, 2025
I took my time with this book because it was so powerful. I have not read an academic book written from a decolonized approach and to have this as the first one, I couldn't have asked for better. I learned a lot from Linklater and appreciated the expansive, yet focused, nature of her work.
March 20, 2020
Very informative, but not what I was looking for.
February 25, 2023
This book is one I will refer to often in my clinical practice
January 8, 2024
Excellent book I used it for school let all the concepts haven't given it a good read from front to cover though
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