Internalized Oppression And Implications Of Client Characteristics

This threat to the native family is detrimental to the children who lack the emotional attachment, therefore creating immature adults who are deprived of a sense of direction or values. Apart from emotional dislocation, the rate of physical and sexual abuse among aboriginal Canadians is also high. There have been various stories of addiction that have been stemmed from abuse and neglect among Natives. Researchers claim that the loss of attachment of young people may lead to increase in addictive tendencies. First Nations people are believed to be largest substance-abusing groups in Canada, where there is formal discussion regarding addiction there are references to the high addiction rates in Aboriginal communities. The major difference between the addiction problem for Native Canadian and others is the element of social isolation and systemic discrimination. This has created a divide among Native communities and a decrease in the spirituality that was originally a central source of power in Aboriginal communities. Addiction has been a symptom to many other issues in First Nations communities, most of which come back to segregation and alienation. Today many first nation communities are fighting for basic needs such as clean water, this is evidence of the discrimination and injustices against first nations people that remain an issue. The first step to addressing these concerns is by ending the cycle of abuse

The continuous trauma that they endured has negatively affected the mental health and physical health of the population. Native Americans are at higher risk for depression, physical/sexual abuse, domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental health issues (McLeigh, 2010). Native American youth are three times more likely to commit suicide than the average population. Native Americans in general are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression and five times more likely to have alcoholism. Colonization not damaged natives mentally, but also brought harm to their physical health as Europeans brought diseases (measles, chicken pox, smallpox, etc) to America (McLeigh, 2010). In order for this population to be served to treat their many medical and mental health issues brought on by years of trauma, policies must be implemented to help Native Americans specifically. However, the reality is that natives mental health needs are often ignored (Gone, 2004). There have been policies that have attempted to meet the needs, but much more is needed. In the most recent action towards improving mental health services for natives, the Affordable Care Act of 2010 permanently gave authorization to the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (Ross, Garfield, Brown, & Raghavan, 2015). This policy will be discussed and analyzed to examine further needs for services in this

Historical trauma is a concept that refers to the wounding of generations due to traumatic experiences such as boarding schools, forced displacement, and genocide. Responses to this distress manifest in a number of social issues. For example, alcoholism and substance abuse could be recognized as attempts to numb unresolved grief. Other manifestations of emotional responses to this trauma include abuse, depression, domestic violence, and suicide. A framework for understanding the effects of historical trauma on communities is provided by Evans-Campbell (2008) in her article, “Historical Trauma in American Indian and Native American Communities”. These three levels include individual-level impacts, family-level impacts, and community-level impacts.

Healthcare is an ever changing entity with an ever changing population of clients. In current day 2016, the United Sates has become a melting pot of many different cultural backgrounds, which has led to changes within the system to accommodate the patient base. Unfortunately, not all changes have been able to effectively reach any and all persons from every background. We still see language and cultural barriers that have direct correlation to the inability to seek healthcare and or the ability to change cultural perspectives to ensure healthy lifestyles. Within this paper, the health of American Indian and Alaskan Native populations will be discussed along with the barriers to care and the

The Native Indian history of violence and debasement changed their views and self-image as well. This change later affects how they adapt to American culture and education after being dissuaded from embracing their own for so long. The violence and indifference shown towards the Native Americans during the “Trail of Tears” contributed greatly to this change. In this dreadful journey, Natives of all kinds were forced off

The reading material from my textbook aligns with the issues presented in the video on Mental Health of Native Americans. The video talks about reconnecting adults and youths back into their culture. One issue is that American Indians have a low success rate academically. American Indian children often distrust European American which makes it difficult for cross cultural counseling. According to Baruth & Manning (2012), American Indian adolescents will end up being counseled by European American counselors because there are few American Indian counselors. The video states that there is high use of substance abuse, suicide, and dropout rates for American Indians. The textbook list suicide, alcohol abuse and other substance abuse, and high school and college drop-out rates as being potential problems American Indian adolescents may experience

The guest speaker Krystal Summers (2017) provided insight into the health and healing from an Indigenous worldview. This lecture presented me with the opportunity to enhance my understanding of the history and culture of Indigenous peoples in Canada through hearing Summers personal experiences. For social workers to be agents of change, they must seek to learn and understand Indigenous peoples cultural experiences and history with oppression (Mullaly, 2010). According to King, Smith, and Gracey (2009), they discovered that “indigenous health inequalities arise from general socioeconomic factors in combination with culturally and historically specific factors particular to the peoples affected” (p. 76). This point highlights one of the key ideas

Depression can lead to suicide, which is a shockingly common cause of death on reservations. Alcoholism among Indigenous people also contributes to stereotypes of Indigenous people, for instance the idea that “All natives are drunk and lazy”.

Jeff Leer's presentation on Native Americans was insightful, with regards to the historical background, culture, and issues that currently impact Native Americans. Although I am not familiar with this population, to an extent I am able to relate to their plight due to my country’s experience with colonization by the British. From a counseling perspective, I do agree with Mr. Leer that when working with this population we should have an understanding of the culture, historical background, value system, and social norms and taboos. Although, we may not be in agreement with some of the beliefs and value system of Native Americans, we have to show sensitivity to their cultural beliefs and practices so as to minimize barriers in the therapeutic

The primary focus that the author has made in this article is the way that psychological warfare regularly works. There are very a few cases of nations tuning in to the requests of fear monger, (for example, the withdrawal of US Marines from Lebanon 1983).To make powerful counter psychological oppression methodologies it is imperative to understand why fear based oppression works and how it functions. Psychological oppression works not just because it in stills fear in target populaces, but since is makes governments and people react in ways that guide the psychological oppressor's motivation. Center contention in this article: "… Terrorist brutality is a type of exorbitant flagging. Fear mongers are excessively powerless, making it impossible

I believe my own experiences have helped me with an American Indian or Native expertise. I am a Chief’s daughter and have experienced first-hand the effects of intergenerational or cross-generational trauma. Those effects spiraled down and led me into some bad behaviors which only intensified my complex trauma responses. I have had to heal and overcome from many types of trauma. In my first years in college, I learned about vicarious, historical, and intergenerational trauma and came to the realization of what I was going through. As an adult, I have had vicarious trauma as well.

At the center of Indigenous discourse lies the worrisome subject of suicide. Deeply embedded in Native culture, suicide has come to represent a reminder of a cruel past tainted by violent colonialism. Via inhumane assimilation practices colonialists both directly and indirectly scarred and continue to scar members of the Indigenous community. Trough post traumatic stress mechanism many trauma survivors have and continue to pass their traumatic experiences to subsequent generations. Unintentionally, they sentence their descendants to live with the wounds colonialism left on them. Through space and time the origin of such scars becomes a blur, but the pain, the mourning, the confusion resides. Accordingly, colonialism sentiment is present in the lives of contemporary Native generations. As far as Indigenous family dynamics, particularly the transmitter and receiver relationship between mother and daughter, intergenerational transmission of trauma via substance abuse, domestic violence, and identity implications can potentially result in suicide.

Yellow Horse Brave Heart, Chase, Elkins, and Altschul (2011) define historical trauma as “cumulative emotional and psychological wounding across generations, including the lifespan, which emanates from massive group trauma” (p. 283). This theory stems from the field of social work and psychiatry, as Yellow Horse Brave Heart is a mental health expert. She is also a Native American (Conversations About Historical Trauma, Part One, 2013). The theory of historical trauma is central to thinking about the Native American experience, especially when considering “histories of genocide, colonization, forced assimilation, and exclusion that undermine intergenerational health and well-being” (Yellow Horse Brave Heart et al., p. 283). This theory shows that interactions with systems, such as those posited by Bronfenbrenner, have ripple effects that can last for generations. It also shows that the direct cause of a problem may not be immediately visible, and may not be an individual’s fault. It may, in fact, be the cause of years of exploitation, abuse, and disempowerment. This is particularly important for Native Americans because they continue to be disproportionately affected by extreme poverty, substance abuse, depression, and other health issues. For human service professionals, it is important to remember that clients may have an entire history of traumatic experiences that the professional may know nothing about.

Now that the history and generational trauma is being closely evaluated in Native communities, there has been a shift in the way in which tribal members are healing their people. The old way of healing, which many call the western way, has not worked for their people or the communities as a whole. Rose Domnick, the director of the Behavioral Health

Indigenous psychotherapy refers to the whole range of verbal and inter- personal techniques designed for the alleviation of personal distress and for the induction of change of behavior which have been developed independently of the Western tradition of scientifically based psychotherapy (Draguns, 1981). Both psychotherapy and counseling function to alleviate distress, to reintegrate the client or patient into the culture, and to enable him or her to respond to cultural roles and to meet cultural expectations (Draguns, 1981).