“Walking in Two Worlds”: Toward an Indigenist Ecological Systems Model for Group Therapy

Abstract

Walking in two worlds is a common metaphor Indigenous peoples use to describe their experiences navigating the differences between Indigenous and Western epistemological and ontological worldviews across various contexts. Despite wide support for this phenomenon, there have been few attempts to address Indigenous–Western cultural incongruities through structural changes in counseling psychology, although as a profession, it is well equipped to do so. Thus, we propose for counseling psychology to move toward the Indigenist ecological systems model (IESM) as an integrative framework for promoting Indigenous epistemologies and ontologies in science and practice. We provide a brief overview of IESM and a direct application of the model through a case illustration of Walking in Two Worlds, a psychotherapy group for Indigenous peoples. With IESM, we describe creating an Indigenous-informed clinical intervention that leverages Indigenous epistemologies and ontologies, prompting real ecological change. We conclude with implications IESM has for counseling psychology.

“… Inside of my home, I was getting a full dose of culture”: Exploring the ecology of Indigenous peoples’ development through stories.

“…History (i.e., the chronosystem) is the starting point of the Indigenist model (Fish et al, 2022; Fish & Syed, 2018). It captures the impact of time on Indigenous Peoples’ development, including change and stability across the life span, and historical and cohort shifts over generations.…”

“…From childhood to adulthood to elderhood, Indigenous Peoples navigate diverse historical and cultural landscapes that shape different facets of the self, for better or worse. It is without question, then, that Indigenous Peoples’ developmental outcomes are inseparable from the historical and cultural contexts of their environments (Fish & Syed, 2018; Fish et al, 2022), which we describe next.…”

“…Despite its promise, previous applications of the Indigenist model are limited. To date, major applications of the reconceptualized theory include Fish and Syed (2018), Fish et al (2022), and O’Keefe et al (2022). Upon its initial development, the Indigenist model was used as a framework to examine the experiences of Native American college students (Fish & Syed, 2018).…”

Conceptualizing Indigenous strengths-based health and wellness research using group concept mapping

“…Most of these approaches (i.e., positive psychology, resilience, social-ecological model) fall short in conceptualizing and understanding Indigenous strengths due to their emphasis on individualism and the lack of attention to social, historical, and cultural contexts. Indigenous scholars argue that both resilience and social-ecological approaches are largely informed by Eurocentric concepts of individuality which often ultimately emphasize deficits or are rooted in response to adversity [ 3 , 5 , 8 , 17 , 18 ]. In contrast, Indigenous knowledges suggest that health promotion, well-being, and flourishing exists within and beyond the individual [ 19 ].…”

“…There continues to be calls for a shift in gaze from individual level determinants of health to broader system determinants of Indigenous Peoples health including oppressive histories, policies, and practices that remain unaddressed including that of colonization [ 5 – 7 ]. Although relevant and important to address, Indigenous communities also carry strengths, wellness, and wisdom to resist, survive, heal, and persist despite the systemic pressures to disconnect from culture, spirit, and wholistic collectivism [ 8 , 9 ].…”