ABOUT

Mental health services and psychological methods and theories are helpful, but alone they do not have the power or authority to usher the seeker to transformational healing. 

An Integrated, Indigenous Approach to Healing

Ancestral ways of being are not limited by time or space.  Within ancestral ways of being is an interconnectedness with the energy of the supernatural that has sustained and will continue to sustain and nurture the seeker.  It is the foundation for healing. 

Ancestral law, principles, protocol, and process, through the Potlatch and Indigenous cleansing ceremonies, have the ability to awaken the true self and offer transformative wisdom, beauty, and a pathway to freedom. Indigenous languages also hold wisdom, and provide a pathway for wholeness and spiritual balance while shifting the shape of oppression toward respect.

Spiritual balance and direction are within the seeker. Training provides each participant the opportunity to apply information to their life experience—learning by practicing. 

  • COLONIZATION AS A CURSE

    I first saw the word 'decolonize' on a book title when I was in the interdisciplinary doctoral program in the 1990s. Over the past two decades, I watched as the term gained momentum becoming a response to a history of atrocities. However, the teachings of our ancestors, Tsm'syen in particular, would define colonization as a curse because it first attacked our hearts and spirits with the removal of our children from our homes, families and communities. Decolonization of the heart and spirit is not possible. Medicine people teach that a curse cannot be reversed, it can only be transformed.

  • INDIGENIZATION IS NOT POSSIBLE

    Just as schooling our children to 'drive out the Indian' from us failed, 'indigenizing' systems and societies will also fail. As First Nations, we have common ancestral principles, and values, we speak different languages and are distinct nations and peoples. Following our inclusive ancestral teachings is a spiritual practice from the heart. We know words can be spoken separate and different from the intention of the heart and mind. We cannot change what has happened--we are able to live our ancestral teachings and invite others to do the same.

BIO

PATRICIA JUNE VICKERS, PHD

Dr. Vickers is a member of the Eagle clan from the village of Gitxaala, British Columbia and carries a traditional name from her village as well as from the Nuxalk Nation in Bella Coola, British Columbia. Having completed trainings that include Spiritual Direction, Neurofeedback, Deep Brain Reorienting, Somatic Experiencing, and Compassionate Inquiry, she grounds her clinical service on traditional ceremonies and spiritual principles.  She teaches spiritual transformation, healing trauma, the meaning of forgiveness, and unearthing layers to find the authentic self.

Let’s Work Together