Indigenous Intercultural Skills Certificate
RESOLVE SK’s professional development continuing education certificate in Indigenous Intercultural Skills is a specialized learning opportunity designed to equip mental health care providers with the knowledge and skills to engage effectively with Indigenous clients, families, and communities. The program recognizes that Indigenous peoples often face unique mental health challenges due to the historical and ongoing impacts of colonization, including intergenerational trauma, systemic discrimination, and cultural disconnection.
Developed with an advisory committee of Indigenous helping professionals, this program is designed to help you create a safe space within your practice for Indigenous clients, families, and communities.
Through this five module program, mental health professionals will reflect on their privilege and positionality and gain a deeper understanding of Indigenous worldviews, cultural values, and healing practices. Participants will explore the role of traditional knowledge, spirituality, and community in mental health, learning to integrate these aspects into culturally appropriate care plans.
A core focus of the program is on developing cultural humility—an ongoing process of self-reflection and self-critique—to recognize sources of power and privilege and challenge personal biases and assumptions.
Mental health professionals will engage in learning circles, case studies, role-playing, discussions, and reflective learning practices to enhance their ability to provide respectful, responsive care that aligns with indigenous clients' needs.
Woven throughout this certificate is the personal connection with the Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) Calls to Action and development of a professional plan to address calls to action in our work as helping professionals. Students will develop this plan through all courses, culminating in the final capstone project.
By the end of this program, participants will be better prepared to offer culturally competent and sensitive mental health services. They will also be equipped with the tools to foster trust, empower Indigenous clients, and support their healing journeys in a way that honours both their individual experiences and collective cultural identity.
During this immersive in-person retreat at the beautiful Wanuskewin Heritage center in Saskatoon, you will engage in applied learning that will challenge you to explore how your experiences, social context, and personal histories influence your practice as a mental health professional.
This course provides peer group work on how professional and personal privilege impacts the work of mental health professionals, traditional tipi teachings, circle discussions on how to reduce barriers to mental health services, and the development of an individual land acknowledgement for professional use.
This course provides an in-depth understanding of key concepts and historical contexts related to Indigenous Peoples and their experiences with colonization, decolonization, Indigenization, and reconciliation. Learners will explore terms such as the mental health industrial complex and strengths-based practice to better engage with Indigenous communities in their work.
Participants will reflect on the sophisticated societies that existed before colonization and the changes in Indigenous communities due to evolving relationships with Europeans on Turtle Island. The course also highlights the accomplishments of Indigenous leaders in deconstructing unjust policies and advancing decolonization.
Learners will analyze the TRC Calls to Action to identify those most relevant to their practice, assess the impact of the mental health industrial complex, and compare Western mental health providers’ ethics codes to Indigenous ethics, understanding critiques made by Indigenous communities.
The course emphasizes the diversity within Indigenous cultures and promotes the application of reflexive practice and relational learning to build respectful, culturally sensitive, and ethical relationships with Indigenous clients in professional settings.
Learners in this course will develop practical skills for initiating and establishing trusting relationships with Indigenous clients. Participants will explore how humility, combined with active listening and cultural sensitivity, can foster genuine, respectful connections with Indigenous clients, especially in situations where mistrust of healthcare systems is understandable due to historical trauma and systemic racism.
In these activities, participants will learn to ask culturally appropriate questions, demonstrate cultural humility, and acknowledge the client’s lived experiences. By the end of the course, participants will have a toolkit of strategies to create trust, respect, and safety in their initial therapeutic relationships with Indigenous clients across various settings.
The course emphasizes the significance of maintaining effective, respectful, and culturally appropriate therapeutic relationships - a cornerstone of successful mental health care for Indigenous clients. Learners will develop skills on how to shift from a one-size-fits-all approach to one that is responsive to the cultural values, experiences, and needs of their Indigenous patients.
By the end of the course, participants will leave with a solid understanding of how to maintain long-term, trusting therapeutic relationships, leading to more effective mental health interventions, increased patient engagement, and improved outcomes for Indigenous clients.
This project-based course offers participants the opportunity to apply the knowledge, skills, and cultural understanding they have developed throughout the program in a practical, real-world context. The capstone encourages participants to focus on a specific area of mental health care that directly impacts Indigenous communities, allowing them to create a comprehensive project that promotes culturally safe and responsive care.
Learners will identify a specific challenge or gap in addressing the needs of Indigenous populations, whether related to direct services, community engagement, or broader systemic issues. They will then develop a proposed solution, initiative, or framework aimed at addressing this challenge, incorporating Indigenous perspectives, cultural practices, and relevant care approaches. This project will demonstrate the learners' ability to apply the program's key concepts in a way that respects and responds to Indigenous values and experiences.
This final course empowers participants to be leaders and advocates for Indigenous mental health, promoting lasting change and culturally appropriate care in their professional practice.
Other Certificate Details
- Designed to be completed over one year of study
- Certificate begins with a in-person weekend retreat in Course 1 and ends with a weekend retreat in Course 5
- Courses are taken in order and developmentally scaffold
- Remainder of learning is online, using both synchronous and asynchronous methods
- Intentionally designed small class sizes for deeper engagement