Description

by Sandra Collins

The book, Decolonizing Health, Healing, and Care: Embodying Culturally Responsive and Socially Just Counselling, responds to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action in meaningful and practical ways. The editors (Dr. Sandra Collins and Dr. Melissa Jay) work with co-authors to consider what the theory and practice of counselling and psychotherapy might look like when centring Indigenous worldviews. They apply the practice of Etuaptmumk or Two-Eyed Seeing to honour the pluralism of views of health and healing and to open new possibilities for relationally, ethically, and culturally responsive practice. The over 75 collaborators speak from within their multiple and intersecting identities and relationalities to offer rich and diverse perspectives based on Indigeneity, ethnicity, ability, social class, age, gender, gender identity, religion or spirituality, and sexual orientation. They offer insights into how embracing and centring Indigenous and other commonly marginalized ways of knowing, being, and doing can transform our approach to health, healing, and care for all persons and all communities. The co-authors expand the possibilities for health and healing through an ecological, systems lens that embraces change at the macro-, meso-, and microlevels. They invite consideration of our shared accountability and responsibility to address social determinants of health and to disrupting systems of oppression in service of advancing justice, accessibility, inclusion, diversity, and equity. The book is intended to provide a foundation for all that we do in health, healing, and care by inviting continuous self-reflection and critical deconstruction of theory and practice. A framework for culturally responsive and socially just counselling provides an integrative thread through the book in the form of 8 Pathways and 18 Practices. Each of these is inspired, co-created, or amplified by the many beautiful and thoughtful contributions of each collaborator. The book integrates audio, video, and artistic elements in a digitally accessible platform designed to meet the needs of all learners.