A’tola’nw - A time of hope and respecting one another:Integrating traditional knowledge and counselling

practice for Indigenous Communities.

E. Anne Marshall, Honore Rodriguez-France & Jennifer L. Coverdale University of Victoria, British Columbia

Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association ConferenceMay 8, 2014

Indigenous Communities Counselling Psychology Program

The role of Traditional Knowledge in our journeys

• Indigenous Centered Learning • Promise to the Communities • Walking in Two Worlds • Ceremony • Decolonization • Grandmother/Grandfather Teachings

Supporting Students• Honore France• Combining traditional & western

ways• Classroom set up and curriculum• Graduate student counselling

Practica in Aboriginal healing programs

Graduate Program Description

The graduate degree, leading to an MA in Indigenous Communities Counselling Psychology (ICCP) from the University of Victoria, provides students with opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and understandings necessary to work as professional counsellors in Aboriginal communities.

The program is designed to be completed over 3 years on a part-time basis and is consistent with the certification requirements of the Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association and the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors

http://www.uvic.ca/education/psychology/programs/graduate/counsellingpsych/community/index.php

7 Program values and principles

These seven Indigenous values & principles inform all aspects of the program:The circle The Indigenous paradigm The sacred & spiritual dimensionThe Ancestral dimensionStories, ceremony, culture, language & communal healingThe earth & our relatives The vocation & practice of helping

ICCP student story themes• the strength and resilience fostered in identifying and

practicing their worldview as Indigenous women • the role of Elders and community knowledge keepers in

teaching and mentorship• the strengths and challenges of Indigenous-centered and

decolonized learning• the experiences of ‘walking in two worlds’ in scholarship and

practice• the role of the mentorship and community based practicum

programs to support the development of strong women leaders and helpers in community