Winner of MHRC-Centre COVID-19 Child & Youth Mental Health Impact Grant

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Colonization and disconnection to their culture have profoundly impacted the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health of Indigenous people over many generations. Indigenous communities have limited access to physical and mental health resources and internet-based services, and with the onset of COVID-19 there is even less access, adding further risk to the health of Indigenous communities.

To address this urgency, the existing wellness program “Coming of Age” – or Lona' tshistanet (which means firekeepers) – was adapted. MHRC and the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health are proud to support this wellness program’s development and evaluation through its $100K research grant.

 

Enhancing a wellness program for Oneida youth that combines traditional Indigenous healing with Western practices

Lead Investigators: Dr. Jason Brown, Western University; Dr. Dan Ashbourne, London Family Court Clinic; and Kahawani Doxtator, Indigenous Consultant, London Family Court Clinic

The pilot program, set up in consultation with the local community, will include family groups and leverage land-based healing practices rooted in the Haudenosaunee Culture to improve the spiritual connectedness and mental well-being of Oneida youth.

Each participant will be paired with an older mentor within the community, and will participate in 12 mental wellness skill-learning workshops that combine traditional Indigenous healing practices with evidence-based Western therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) practices and dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT).

The wellness program will culminate in a five-day summer camp during which participants will share what they have learned and be trained on mentoring others. The goal is to enhance the connectedness and mental well-being of Oneida during the course of the pandemic and indeed beyond.

“MHRC launched its multi-province research initiative on COVID-19’s impact on mental health as part of our ongoing commitment to advance stakeholder-driven research. The Centre, a longstanding important partner of MHRC, was the first to come on board with this initiative.”

“We are very pleased and proud to partner with the Centre once again to address the unique mental health needs of Ontario’s diverse populations,” says Akela Peoples, CEO of MHRC.