Therapy as Ceremony: Embracing Decolonial Healing Practices for Native American Clients
January 31, 2025 | 8:30am to 11:45am CT | 3.0 CE credit hours
Virtual (via Zoom)
*Registration for this course CLOSES on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at 5pm CT*
This course is funded by the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, Behavioral Health Division through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Substance Use and Mental Health Block Grants.
CE/CEU credits included: 3.0 (see below for approval details). You must attend 90% of this webinar to receive continuing education credits, and attendance is monitored (partial credit not awarded).
Format: Live, interactive virtual workshop via Zoom. If you are interested on the on-demand version of this course, click here.
Investment: Free for professionals residing in North Dakota. $89 for professionals who are not North Dakota residents.
Presenter: Julie Smith-Yliniemi (Ojibwe) PhD, LPCC, NCC (see bio below)
Abstract:
This webinar explores the transformative potential of integrating traditional healing practices into therapeutic settings when working with Native American clients. Grounded in a decolonial framework, this session will examine how therapy can be approached as a healing ceremony, blending culturally significant rituals with modern mental health practices. Attendees will gain an understanding of the historical and intergenerational traumas that have impacted Native communities and learn strategies to decolonize therapeutic approaches to ensure they are culturally safe, respectful, and relevant.
Participants will explore how traditional practices, such as storytelling, ceremony, and connection to the land, can be incorporated into therapy to enhance healing and well-being. The webinar will emphasize the importance of recognizing cultural as central to the therapeutic process, while also addressing the barriers Native American clients face when accessing mental health services. This is an intermediate-level webinar.
Objectives:
- Describe the impact of colonization and historical trauma on Native American mental health
- Explain the integration of traditional healing practices into therapy
- Design strategies for decolonizing therapy
- Identify barriers to mental health access for Native American clients and ways to address them
Non-Discrimination:
HPC and ATAGF do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, disability, military status, sexual orientation, or age.
Conflict of Interest Statements:
There is no known commercial support for this program, nor are there any relationships between the CE sponsor, presenting organization, presenter, program content, research, grants, or other funding that could be construed as conflicts of interests. Dr. Smith-Yliniemi receives an honorarium for instructing this course. There is no commercial support or benefits for endorsement of products (e.g., books, training, drugs).
The presenter will inform participants of the utility and validity of content discussed (including the basis for statements about utility/validity), as well as limitations of the approach and the most common and severe risks, if any, associated with program content.
Requests for Accommodations:
HPC and ATAGF are committed to accessibility and non-discrimination in all aspects of its continuing education activities. Participants with special needs should contact program organizers so reasonable accommodations can be made.
To request accommodations, contact ATAGF's Continuing Education Vice Chair, Christine Boulton-Olson, PhD, LP, at [email protected].
Presenter: Julie Smith-Yliniemi (Ojibwe) PhD, LPCC, NCC
Dr. Julie Smith-Yliniemi is an assistant professor and director of community-engaged research at the Indigenous Trauma & Resilience Research Center at the University of North Dakota, Indigenous Health department. She is Ojibwe from the White Earth Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota, and is dedicated to improving Indigenous health both locally and globally. Her educational background spans health education, school counseling, grant management, and clinical mental health therapy. Dr. Smith-Yliniemi spent years adapting evidence-based trauma therapy models to incorporate Native American traditional healing practices.
She co-developed the first domestic cultural immersion event with the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), leading to increased cultural humility among participants. Her community engagement work includes creating a mobile crisis response team that combines local community members with mental health professionals. Dr. Smith-Yliniemi has thirteen years of experience working in K-12 public and tribal schools as a health teacher, school counselor, and mental health therapist, and four years as an assistant professor in higher education before joining UND in 2022. Dr. Smith-Yliniemi lives in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, with her husband and children. She enjoys yoga, outdoor activities, and traveling, with a particular love for pow-wows in the summer months.
Course Curriculum
Continuing Education Approvals (CE/CEU)
This course is available for 3.0 continuing education hours. You must attend 90% of the course to receive credit, and attendance is monitored. Credit will not be given for partial viewing/attendance.
This course is co-sponsored by Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks, PLLC.
Psychologists: Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks, PLLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks, PLLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
ND Licensed Social Workers: Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks, PLLC, is approved by the North Dakota Board of Social Work Examiners (NDBSWE) to sponsor continuing education for social workers in North Dakota (approval through 4/5/25, provider #P-217). This course is listed on CE Broker for 3.0 continuing education hours.
ND Licensed Counselors: This course is approved by the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE) for 3.0 continuing education hours.
ND Marriage and Family Therapists: This course was submitted to the North Dakota Marriage and Family Therapy Licensure Board (NDMFTLB) for 3.0 hours of credit.
ND Licensed Addiction Counselors: Haugen Performance Consulting, PLLC, submitted an application to become an approved continuing education provider for the North Dakota Board of Addiction Counseling Examiners (NDBACE).
Athletic Trainers: This program has been planned and implemented in accordance with the requirements and policies of the Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer (BOC) through the joint sponsorship of Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks, PLLC, and Haugen performance Consulting, PLLC. Assessment and Therapy Associates of Grand Forks is approved by the BOC to provide continuing education for athletic trainers.
To view our workshop policies, including refund policy, please click here.
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