11 TPC Digest 11 Julie Smith-Yliniemi, Krista M. Malott, JoAnne Riegert, Susan F. Branco Utilizing Collective Wisdom C eremony-assisted treatments are rituals that support one’s physical, spiritual, and emotional health to enact healing and sustain wellness and survivance (e.g., resistance and thriving in the face of oppression). In light of the universal practice around making meaning through ritual, certain Indigenous interventions may be adapted for non-Native clientele, albeit with caution and an ethical mindset. In this article, we describe three ceremony-assisted treatments drawn from Indigenous traditions, as practiced personally and professionally by authors Smith-Yliniemi and Branco. These three practices are smudging, drumming, and a letting-go ceremony. Smudging is an act of burning a traditional medicinal plant with the purpose of cleansing the body, mind, or spirit and renewing energy within and around individuals. Drumming can be used to aid clients in finding rhythm in life—to celebrate, grieve, heal, and feel connected to Mother Earth. Finally, a letting-go ceremony is a ritual for processing or releasing thoughts, emotions, or memories to make room for new ways of being in the world. Application of these three interventions by non-Native practitioners must be undertaken with respect and sensitivity, awareness, and guidance. Reliance on various ethical guidelines can reduce the risk of appropriation and misuse and ensure that cultural knowledge is applied with respectful attribution to the creators of these interventions without stereotyping. In this article, we draw on two sets of guidelines for attending to ethics in engaging in Indigenous healing ceremonies: the American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics and Meade et al.’s Checklist for Counselor Practitioners, which offers guidelines for non-Native practitioners to address issues of cultural appropriation, adaptation, and appreciation. Meade and colleagues, for instance, cite the need for practitioners to acquire cultural knowledge of an intervention to implement practices more ethically, beginning with researching the “origins of the clinical intervention.” This article describes ethical application of ceremonial interventions using relevant ACA ethical codes. Examples of ethical directives include learning appropriate application of the ritual and working to consult, learn, and draw from local cultural protocol and original people/elders/tribes of the practitioner’s area. Avoiding harm might also entail clearly crediting the source and origins of ceremonial practice with clients, avoiding use of such interventions solely for profit, and not using more resources than necessary to enact a ritual. Counselors who apply ceremonial interventions should commit to ongoing learning, as emphasized in the ACA Code of Ethics. This includes continual practitioner reflection and eliciting client feedback to meet each person’s specific needs. Finally, practitioners should keep in mind that what is acceptable in one community is not the same in others, and that while some Indigenous people believe that Indigenous medicines are there to help individuals of any and all identities, others believe such practices should be maintained as sacred and exclusive to their community. . Julie Smith-Yliniemi, PhD, NCC, LPCC, is an assistant professor and Director of Community Engaged Research at the University of North Dakota. Krista M. Malott, PhD, LPC, is a full professor at Villanova University. JoAnne Riegert, PhD, LPCC, is a mental health professional from the White Earth Indian Reservation. Susan F. Branco, PhD, NCC, BC-TMH, LPC, LCPC, ACE, is an associate professor at Palo Alto University. Correspondence may be addressed to Julie Smith-Yliniemi, 1301 N Columbia Rd, Suite E-2, Grand Forks, ND 58202, julie.smithyliniemi@und.edu. Ceremony-Assisted Treatment for Native and Non-Native Clients
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