Ne kwin dist ggan (the light is lit again) : healing trauma in the Wet'suwet'en Nation with Indigenous Focusing Oriented Therapy
department or school: Education, Faculty of
department or school: Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Panofsky, Sarah
issued: 2020-10-29T21:33:50Z
issued: 2020
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Contemporary Indigenous mental health research is beginning to address colonization, contextualizing Indigenous health within a history of colonial relationships and inadequate mental health responses. In practice, however, dominant counselling models for mental health in Canada have neglected the Indigenous perspective and there is a paucity of research regarding interventions that address psychological trauma with Indigenous populations. The Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs recognize the profound impacts that historical trauma has on Wet’suwet’en people and are utilizing Indigenous Focusing Oriented Therapy (IFOT), a trauma therapy model that is collective, land-based, and intergenerational, to help their Nation heal. Drawing on Indigenous and decolonizing methodologies, and supported by narrative inquiry and analysis, this thesis explores how IFOT is shaped by Wet’suwet’en ways of knowing and being and mobilized at the level of individuals, families, house groups, and the Nation. 11 Wet’suwet’en members and IFOT practitioners participated in this study that utilized a sharing circle process privileging storytelling for data collection and interpretation. The findings demonstrated that IFOT helped to heal trauma so that Wet’suwet’en people could experience greater connection with Wet’suwet’en yintah (land), and c’idede’ (teachings and stories from long ago). The strategic implementation of IFOT by Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs created a culturally pertinent model for community-based healing. Through IFOT and in alignment with Wet’suwet’en ways of knowing and being, participants gained connection to yintah, ancestors, spirituality, language, stories, and ceremony. IFOT helped individuals to experience a sense of collective belonging that encouraged them to take up their responsibilities as Wet’suwet’en people within the traditional system of governance. IFOT supported the reclamation of Wet’suwet’en identities, which became a foundation for self-determination and so…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/76412
note: NE KWIN DIST GGAN (THE LIGHT IS LIT AGAIN): HEALING TRAUMA IN THE WET’SUWET’EN NATION WITH INDIGENOUS FOCUSING ORIENTED THERAPY by Sarah Panofsky M.A. The University of British Columbia, 2011 B.A. The University of British Columbia, 2007 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Counselling Psychology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) October 2020 © Sarah Panofsky, 2020 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled: Ne Kwin Dist Ggan (The Light is Lit Again): Healing Trauma in the Wet’suwet’en Nation with Indigenous Focusing Oriented Therapy submitted by Sarah Panofsky in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology Examining Committee: Dr. Marla Buchanan, Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education, UBC Supervisor Dr. Alanaise Goodwill, Counselling Psychology, SFU Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Jan Hare, Language and Literacy Education, UBC Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract Contemporary Indigenous mental health research is beginning to address colonization, contextualizing Indigenous health within a history of colonial relationships and inadequate mental health responses. In practice, however, dominant counselling models for mental health in Canada have neglected the Indigenous perspective and there is a paucity of research regarding interventions that address psychological trauma with Indigenous populations. The Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs recognize the profound impacts that historical trauma has on Wet’suwet’en people and are utilizing Indigenous Focusing Oriented Therapy (IFOT), a trauma therapy model that is collective, land-based, and intergenerational, to help their Nation heal. Drawing on Indigenous and decolonizing methodologies, and supported by…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2021-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0394861
language: eng
degree discipline: Counselling Psychology
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/76412