Group therapy of aboriginal offenders in a Canadian forensic psychiatric facility.
In recent years, the use of group therapy approaches with Aboriginal or Native Canadians/American Indians has become widely accepted. However, many advocates of this approach rarely consider the implications of group therapy for culturally heterogeneous groups, such as when non-Aboriginal peoples are involved or when there are Aboriginal peoples from different cultures and/or with different degrees of orientation to Euro-Canadian culture. This article documents the use of one form of group therapy for Aboriginal offenders in a forensic psychiatric facility, where this degree of cultural heterogeneity exists. The article concludes that, at least within a forensic psychiatric setting, group therapies that mirror the social, cultural, racial, and class structures of Euro-Canadian society are problematic in the treatment of traditional Aboriginal offenders but much less so for acculturated Aboriginal offenders.
Waldram
J B
JB
Department of Native Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Wong
S
S
D000069:Acculturation; D000328:Adult; D044467:American Indian or Alaska Native / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003142:Communication; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D006801:Humans; D007298:Insanity Defense; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group; D012525:Saskatchewan; D013808:Therapeutic Community