What is Healing to Me?: Aboriginal Healing Foundation in Canada

June 30, 2021 by

Unknown-5Here is a summary of the findings from interviews of clients and staff of five healing programmes in Canada:

“… healing is an active, not passive, process: it is something you do, not something you think or that is done to you. In this sense, healing is work, it is ongoing and requires dedication. First and foremost, it requires commitment from the individual. No one can heal you or make you heal. Personal agency is stressed above all else.

The dominant metaphor in our research describes healing as a journey… The journey has a clear direction toward healing, yet it is a journey fraught with challenges. Falling off the path of healing is common, even expected by treatment staff. There is no shame to temporary setbacks, nor are these seen as failures; rather, the individual is welcomed back to continue on his or her journey when he or she feels ready…

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Healing Tagged With: , , , ,

Gabor Maté: Our Strange Indifference to Aboriginal Addiction

June 19, 2021 by

Unknown-8“Addicts are made, not born, and the most common precursors are early childhood privation, neglect and abuse. For several generations, Canada’s native children have been far more likely to suffer grinding penury, abuse and childhood substance addictions than non-natives.” Gabor Maté

Marlene, a 46-year old native woman, sat in my office last week, slumped on her chair, blinking away her tears. I’d just shared the news that her most recent blood test confirmed she had “seroconverted” to HIV, become infected with the AIDS virus.

Although an injection drug user, Marlene had always been careful to use clean needles. Her route of infection was sexual contact – with the resigned naiveté characteristic of so many aboriginal women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, she had trusted a man, himself a drug addict, who assured her that he was a safe partner.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Healing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Joe Solanto: Intergenerational Trauma Amongst First Nations People of Canada

May 6, 2021 by

In these two film clips, Dr. Joe Solanto discusses what trauma is and how the experiences of colonisation for First Nations peoples in Canada” qualify” as trauma. He describes how trauma is transmitted across generations. Crime and other social problems are understandable responses to trauma. [7’26”]

> Don Coyhis: What the Boarding Schools Did to Our Community

 

Filed Under: Healing Tagged With: , , ,

Owning One’s Past and Committing to One’s Future

March 6, 2021 by

Michael Chandler speaks about the eight variables that affect owning one’s past and committing to one’s future, especially as they relate to Aboriginal communities and the preservation of culture. TRU, Open Learning. [2’58”]

Filed Under: Film Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Reflections on Healing: A Canadian Aboriginal Perspective

March 4, 2021 by

I’ve been reading a fascinating article from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in Canada entitled Aboriginal Healing in Canada: Studies in Therapeutic Practice and Meaning. What of course is said in this article is relevant to recovery in the western world. Here are some interesting thoughts about healing:

‘The first thing that emerges from our work is that healing is a concept that is difficult to articulate, in part, because most [people participating in the research – DC] seem to feel that there is no need to articulate it and/or simply have never been asked to.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Reflections on Healing: A Canadian Aboriginal Perspective

December 2, 2013 by

UnknownI’ve been reading a fascinating article from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in Canada entitled Aboriginal Healing in Canada: Studies in Therapeutic Practice and Meaning. What of course is said in this article is relevant to recovery in the western world. Here are some interesting thoughts about healing:

‘The first thing that emerges from our work is that healing is a concept that is difficult to articulate, in part, because most [people participating in the research – DC] seem to feel that there is no need to articulate it and/or simply have never been asked to.

There is no dominant treatment paradigm at work here. Healing proved to be variable in meaning, often vague and fuzzy, and very idiosyncratic.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

‘Intergenerational Trauma & Healing, Parts 1-3’ by Joe Solanto

October 31, 2013 by

Yesterday, I posted a blog from Gabor Maté entitled Our Strange Indifference To Aboriginal Addiction. I highlighted the following about society’s – it’s not just Canada – response to the problems of addiction amongst Aboriginal people.

‘We seem to comfort ourselves with the belief that the endemic drug addiction and alcoholism are unfortunate realities for which we, as a society, bear no responsibility. From both scientific and historical perspectives, such a view is distorted and self-serving.’ Gabor Maté

I’ve heard many non-Aboriginal Australian people say in relation to Aboriginal people: “Why don’t they just get over it?” (Yeh, like non-Aboriginal people just get over diabetes, cancer or rape)

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

‘Our Strange Indifference To Aboriginal Addiction’ by Gabor Maté

October 30, 2013 by

imagesHere’s an important blog from one of my favourite writers, Gabor Maté.

‘Marlene, a 46-year old native woman, sat in my office last week, slumped on her chair, blinking away her tears. I’d just shared the news that her most recent blood test confirmed she had “seroconverted” to HIV, become infected with the AIDS virus.

Although an injection drug user, Marlene had always been careful to use clean needles. Her route of infection was sexual contact – with the resigned naiveté characteristic of so many aboriginal women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, she had trusted a man, himself a drug addict, who assured her that he was a safe partner.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Role of Historical Trauma in Indigenous Mental Health and Addictions

September 26, 2013 by

In the past couple of months, I have become increasingly interested in historical trauma and the impact it has had on the health and well-being of Aboriginal people here in Australia, and in other indigenous groups around the world. I’ll be talking more about it in the coming months.

For now, I want to introduce you to the promotional trailer of the film ‘Sharing Tebwewin’.

“Sharing Tebwewin” (Sharing the Truth) is a 30-minute educational documentary designed to help health workers become more “culturally competent” in their work with First Nations people.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , ,