Globally, Indigenous communities, leaders, mental health providers, and scholars have called for strengths-based approaches to mental health that align with Indigenous and holistic concepts of health and wellness. We applied the Indigenist Ecological Systems Model to strengths-based case examples of Indigenous youth mental health and wellness work occurring in CANZUS (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and […]
traditional healing
BRAVE Program
American Indian and Alaska Native young adults are strong and resilient. Interventions designed to improve their mental health and help-seeking skills are especially needed, particularly those that include culturally-relevant resources and relatable role models. The multi-media BRAVE intervention was designed for American Indian and Alaska Native teens and young adults to amplify and reinforce healthy […]
Using Cuento to Support the Behavioral Health Needs of Hispanic/Latinos
According to the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), nearly eight million (18.4 percent) Hispanic/Latino adults reported having a mental illness. Among those with a mental illness, 1.9 million (24.4 percent) had a serious mental illness, or a mental illness that impacted their ability to function. Though the prevalence of a major […]
Yoga N Da Hood – Teaching People In Under Served Communities the Art of Self-Healing and Self Love through Yoga and Mindfulness
When Ebony Smith began practicing yoga, she couldn’t help but feel like an outsider. “There was something about it that I absolutely loved,” she said. “But I didn’t like going to practice, because nobody ever looked like me and I just always kind of felt awkward.” Smith, 35, picked up yoga about seven years ago […]
The Art of Yoga Project for Incarcerated Adolescent Girls
Because incarcerated teen girls warrant age-appropriate, gender-specific and culturally sensitive rehabilitative services, AYP has developed an innovative gender-responsive intervention that combines yoga and creative art. An overwhelming number of incarcerated teen girls are victims themselves, caught in cycles of violence and abuse. Nationally, 70 to 90 percent of girls in the juvenile justice system have […]
Elders Talking Circle: A Reminiscence Story Sharing Group
NNEDLearn 2014 Participant: Denver Indian Health and Family Services Description: The Elders Talking Circle helps to relieve participants’ symptoms related to dis-empowerment, these include anxiety, denial, despair, isolation, grief or loss, and helplessness. The process of life review and reminiscence, which is part of the Talking Circle, builds empowerment by helping participants achieve inner peace, acceptance, hope, […]