Notes on Helping Indigenous Parents and Caregivers with Anxious Children

Introduction

• Kathryn Richardson, a Metis counselor and educator, discusses supporting indigenous parents and caregivers of children experiencing anxiety.

• She acknowledges the land in Djosjage, Montreal (Mohawk name), and Coast Salish Territory on Vancouver Island.

Understanding Anxiety in Indigenous Children

• Avoid overpathologizing; view experiences as responses to circumstances.

• Consider anxiety as "big worries" or "big fears," understandable in the context of challenges like climate change, bullying, racism, and performance pressures.

• Acknowledge the role of family as a protective factor, while recognizing historical dislocations from land, community, culture, and traditions due to colonization.

Project Collaboration

• The work is based on a project with Cheryl Hendrick (Williams Lake Band) for the Canadian Mental Health Association of British Columbia.

• The aim is to address indigenous expressions of anxiety in conversation with psychiatric/psychological models related to colonization.

Questions to Consider About Anxiety

• Is anxiety pathological, or a response to social threats?

• Is it a mental health condition or an adaptive response?

• Is anxiety protective, or debilitating and overreactive (a false alarm)?

Resources

• Reference is made to "Anxiety Disorders and Aboriginal People in Canada," a guide reviewing background, research, and diagnostic information in a culturally relevant way.

Response-Based Practice

• Utilize a response-based lens, exploring existing knowledge, abilities, values, and beliefs, as developed with Alan Wade, Linda Coates, and Shelley Bonner.

• Validate people's inner radar and situational analysis, recognizing their ability to make sense of their environment.

• Focus on histories of resistance to oppression, and the intelligence/creativity involved.

• Understand events within the unique context of individuals' lives.

• Acknowledge that having problems is a normal part of the human experience.

Anxiety as Anticipated Humiliation

• Anxiety can be seen as anticipated humiliation in the social world (e.g., fear of being called on in class).

Needs for Safety and Dignity

• Everyone needs safety and dignity.

• Indigenous communities often have codes of respect.

• Response-based practice is motivated by restoring dignity to those harmed.

• Colonization is a significant form of humiliation; processes like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission can guide restoration.

• Leaders/those with power have a duty to care for others to ensure the safety of women and children.

Protecting Children's Safety

• Protect children's physical, emotional, and psychological safety.

• Address poverty and governmental neglect in indigenous communities.

• Reference the activism of young Shannon from Northern Ontario, who fought for better school conditions.

Positive Social Responses

• Positive responses to children in need promote mental wellness.

• Lack of appropriate responses can lead to mental health difficulties like anxiety.

• Encourage bravery and courage in young people.

Indigenous Processes for Dealing with Stress

• Traditional healing methods and interaction with Mother Earth are key.

• Examples include:

  • Sweating (sweat lodges, running, paddling, dancing).

  • Cold water bathing.

  • Energy movement and rhythm (laughing, shaking, drumming).

  • Use of trees (cedar boughs) for cleansing.

Definition of Stress

• Stress is defined as an accumulation of unprocessed physical and emotional pain.

• Many indigenous people haven't lived in safety and security due to historical trauma.

• Without calm and safety, practices like meditation and yoga may be inaccessible, leading to emotional overwhelm and potential addictive behaviors.

• Continuous processing of emotions is necessary for staying well.

Ancestral Survival and Risk-Taking

• Acknowledging that our ancestors survived adversities.

• Inculcate in children the need to take risks for their community.

• Community service fosters connection and belonging, preventing anxiety.

Blood or Cellular Memory

• Anxiety today may relate to historical or cellular memory of past trauma (e.g., residential schools).

• The memory of separation from family can be passed down, causing present-day anxiety.

Real vs. False Alarms

• Differentiate between real, present-day fears and false alarms.

• Psychiatry often focuses on anxiety as a false alarm without contextualizing it.

• Share an example of students accurately identifying teacher harassment as the source of their anxiety.

Difficult Situations for Children

• Acknowledge that some situations, like climate change, are hard for children to process.

• Provide listening support for climate-related anxiety.

• Assure children that adults/authorities are addressing real disasters.

• Safety planning/interventions are needed for real-world problems.

Types of Anxiety

• Identified types of anxiety include:

  • Separation anxiety.

  • Social worries (anticipated humiliation).

  • Sleep issues (e.g., fear of monsters).

  • Big specific worries (e.g., loud noises, dogs, alien invasions).

  • Obsessive-compulsive tendencies (OCT).

  • Big general worries.

Selective Mutism/Speaking

• Reframe selective mutism as selective speaking (a deliberate choice).

• Provide an example of a child who speaks freely with the mother's family but not the father's family after a separation.

Compulsions

• Discuss compulsions like fear of germs and excessive washing.

• Connect compulsive tidiness to the first generation after residential school.

General Anxiety Manifestations

• Manifestations of big general worries include uncertainty and striving for perfection.

• Children may see things in black and white.

• General anxiety can cause tummy aches, headaches, irritability, meltdowns, and concentration challenges.

Dealing with General Anxiety

• Externalize anxiety to create an image outside the child's body/mind.

• Work on readjusting power relations between the child and the externalized anxiety (e.g., making a deal with "Smokey").

• Acknowledge that anxiety can diminish on its own.

Avoiding Feeding Fears

• Avoid accommodating fears in ways that disrupt family routines.

• Decrease avoidance behaviors through planning and safety plans.

• Encourage children to engage with their community.

Balancing Reassurance

• Avoid over-reassuring children.

• Offer positive feedback when children demonstrate bravery.

• Share an example of a child going on a playdate, even though they know the friend has a dog.

Parental Approaches

• Parental disagreements on parenting styles can create problems.

• Parents must find middle ground and work together.

Family Balance

• Families should maintain balance in their lives/routines.

• Prioritize sleep, healthy eating, outdoor time, and one-on-one time with each parent.

Exposure and Facing Fears

• Provide an example of gradual exposure to separation at bedtime.

• Use a "bravery ladder" to map steps toward facing fears.

• Reward tickets are given for each step achieved, which later can be redeemed for prizes.

Reducing Questioning Behavior

• Reduce repetitive questioning by limiting the number of questions allowed per hour.

• Utilize question tickets.

Acknowledging Resistance

• Acknowledge that children's behaviors can be acts of resistance that preserves their dignity.

• Differentiate resistance from psychological symptoms.

• Address the subtle ways that children hold back to retain their dignity.

Response-Based Framework

• Consider the social material conditions (nature of power/safety).

• Situational interaction (dynamics within a classroom, home, or office).

• Offender actions (e.g., a teacher's rude or insulting remarks).

• Social responses (how others' reactions impact the child).

• Emphasize safe environments with caring people to promote mental health.

Signs of Well-Being

• Identify signs of well-being through a child's eyes, posture, smile, and breathing.

Indigenous Frameworks

• Incorporate indigenous frameworks like medicine wheels and the seven grandfather teachings.

• Connecting children to their culture serves as a protective factor.

Conclusion

• Kathryn Richardson thanks the audience, acknowledges volume issues, and offers to answer questions via email.