APA Annual Meeting 2022 On-Demand Package-Challenges to Evidence-Based Practice in American Indian and Indigenous Community Mental Health

Challenges to Evidence-Based Practice in American Indian and Indigenous Community Mental Health

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Summary:<br /><br />The first video features a psychologist from the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation discussing the challenges of evidence-based practice in American Indian and indigenous community mental health. He highlights the cultural differences between traditional healing practices and Western approaches and emphasizes the need for cultural attunement in providing mental health services. The speaker recounts a personal experience with a Lakota medicine man who used a unique indigenous approach to help a depressed cancer patient. He contrasts this with the standardized techniques and empirical research used in Western mental health. The speaker concludes by advocating for an alternative science that incorporates indigenous community mental health discourse to address power dynamics and cultural dominance in mental health services.<br /><br />The second video explores an alternative perspective on mental health in Native American communities. The speaker discusses four domains: distress, well-being, treatment, and evaluation. Native communities do not relate to DSM disorders but view mental health issues through historical trauma. Well-being is understood as relational selfhood, finding identity and connections within the community. Treatment involves reclaimed traditional healing practices alongside Western interventions. The speaker discusses the challenges of evaluation and suggests incorporating indigenous ways of knowing. Cultural humility and community consultation are emphasized when working with Native American communities to understand their unique perspectives and tailor mental health interventions.

Keywords

psychologist

Fort Belknap Indian Reservation

evidence-based practice

American Indian

indigenous community

mental health

cultural differences

traditional healing practices

Western approaches

cultural attunement

Lakota medicine man

indigenous approach