Day 3

DAY 3: May 14, 2025

De-Colonizing Services & Programs in Education & Mental Health: Holistic & Strength-Based Approaches to Better Serve Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Children & Youth

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This workshop will explore the power of narrative-based approaches in addressing mind, body, spirit and emotion to empower children and youth to make meaning of their experiences, transform their self-concept, and rebuild relationships with others and the world around them. Participants will learn how to use storytelling and other motivational techniques to guide healing and growth. We will also explore ways to decolonize your work in classrooms, counseling, social work, or any interactions with children and youth by adopting holistic, strengths-based methods, and discuss ethical considerations for working in cross-cultural and community contexts.

Special attention will be given to the intersections of complex PTSD, developmental trauma, and colonialism, including the impact of intergenerational trauma on memory and well-being. Indigenous frameworks for understanding health, wellness, and healing will also be integrated into the conversation.

By the end of the session, participants will leave with practical tools, frameworks, and methodologies for addressing intergenerational trauma and complex PTSD, and for providing healing-informed support to individuals, families, and communities.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Understand Narrative-Based Healing Approaches

Recognize the role of storytelling in addressing mind, body, spirit, and emotion to help children and youth make meaning of their experiences.
Explore how narratives can transform self-concept and relationships.

Apply Motivational Techniques

Learn how to use storytelling and other motivational methods to guide healing and growth in children and youth.

Adopt Decolonizing Practices

Identify strategies to decolonize interactions with children and youth in classrooms, counseling, and social work.
Incorporate holistic, strengths-based methods in cross-cultural and community contexts.

Address Complex Trauma and Colonialism

Examine the intersections of complex PTSD, developmental trauma, and colonialism.
Explore the impact of intergenerational trauma on memory and well-being.

Integrate Indigenous Frameworks

Learn Indigenous perspectives on health, wellness, and healing as part of trauma-informed care.

Implement Healing-Informed Practices

Develop practical tools, frameworks, and methodologies to support individuals, families, and communities impacted by trauma.
Apply ethical considerations in cross-cultural and community-based settings.

Suzanne Methot, BA., B.Ed.

Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, Ph.D. served as Vice Provost for Indigenous Initiatives at Lakehead University for three years. Effective September 2016 she was appointed as the 1st Indigenous Chair for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada for Lakehead University and continues to develop pathways forward to reconciliation across Canada. Cynthia was inducted as a “Honourary Witness” by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2014, and is the Chair of the Governing Circle for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba.

Cynthia is a member and resident of the Chippewa of Georgina Island First Nation in Ontario and has dedicated her life to building bridges of understanding. She sees endless merit in bringing people from diverse cultures, ages, and backgrounds together to engage in practical dialogue and applied research initiatives. She is deeply committed to public education and offers as many as 150 key notes, workshops, and training sessions annually to a variety of groups, organizations and institutions. She teaches on historic and contemporary Indigenous trauma and wisdom, treaties and right relations, active youth engagement, and Indigenizing education.

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