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  • The ON NEIHR Indigenous Suicide Prevention and Complex Crisis Response

The ON NEIHR Indigenous Suicide Prevention and Complex Crisis Response

  • 25 Feb 2022
  • 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
  • Webinar

Indigenous Suicide Risk Assessment in the Canadian Context: Literature Review

About this event

The ON NEIHR Indigenous Suicide Prevention and Complex Crisis Response theme webinar.

Indigenous Suicide Risk Assessment in the Canadian Context: Literature Review

Principle Investigator: Jeffrey Ansloos

Co-Investigators: Brenda Restoule, Renee Linklater

Research Team: Jordan McVittie, Shanna Peltier, Nicole Santos Dunn, Stephanie Mansour, Anik Obomsawin, & Sara Azarshahi

Abstract:

Suicide risk assessment is a standard of practice for mental health providers in Canada, and internationally. Risk assessment is mandated by regulatory bodies to ensure that practitioners are upholding their duty to protect clients who may be at risk of suicide or self-harm. Currently, suicide risk assessments and interventions take a biomedical approach and do not consider the specific cultural needs of minorities or marginalized communities, and in particular, Indigenous communities. The overarching lack of culturally relevant risk assessment strategies within a biomedically-dominated and psycho-centric field is troubling. Particularly so in the case of Indigenous peoples in Canada, whereby suicide is a startling public health concern that disproportionately impacts Indigenous peoples. Thus, despite the established importance of providing culturally competent mental health services, there is a paucity of risk assessment practices tailored to Indigenous communities. This presentation will highlight the findings of a literature review that examined the risk assessment practices at the individual and community level for Indigenous people on Turtle Island and globally. For instance, in Canada dominant forms of risk assessment for Indigenous communities are those offered by non-Indigenous organizations (e.g., Mental Health First Aid through the Mental Health Commission of Canada and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training through LivingWorks). The results of this literature review present a clear, and urgent need for culturally safe suicide risk assessment practices applicable for Indigenous peoples and adequate training for mental health professionals working within Indigenous communities or with Indigenous clients.

Bio's:

Dr. Jeffrey Ansloos is a Registered Psychologist, Canada Research Chair in Critical Studies in Indigenous Health and Social Action on Suicide, and Assistant Professor of Indigenous Health and Social Policy in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Dr. Ansloos is the current Faculty Chair of the Indigenous Education Network. Dr. Ansloos is Nehiyaw (Cree) and English and is a member of Fisher River Cree Nation (Ochekwi-Sipi; Treaty 5). He was born and raised in the heart of Treaty 1 territory in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Jordan McVittie is a PhD student in the School and Clinical Child Psychology program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education-University of Toronto. She is a proud Anishinaabe kwe from Timiskaming First Nation. Her current research focuses in on the socio-political factors contributing to the disproportionate rates of child suicide within Indigenous communities in Canada. Upon the completion of her doctorate and registration as a psychologist, Jordan aims to return to her home community in Northern Ontario where there is sparse psychological support for children and youth.

Shanna Peltier is an Anishinaabe kwe who grew up in Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory located on the beautiful Mnidoo Mnis (Manitoulin Island), Ontario. Shanna is a Ph.D. student in the School and Clinical Child Psychology program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) - University of Toronto. Shanna is a 2021 Canadian Institutes of Health Research Vanier Scholar in Societal and Cultural Dimensions of Health. Her research seeks to give rise to more nuanced and socio-politically entangled psychological theories of complex death, namely Indigenous suicide, and generate Indigenous community-informed social actions which address colonial violence and promote wellbeing. Shanna is a Research Assistant within the Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research (NEIHR) Ontario and is under the supervision of Dr. Jeffrey Ansloos within the Critical Health and Social Action Labs (CHSA). She holds various advisory and representative positions with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), and the Ontario Indigenous Youth Partnership Project (OIYPP).

Nicole Santos Dunn is a PhD student in the Clinical and Counselling Psychology program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. She is a settler of Portuguese and Irish ancestry and presently lives in Toronto where she enjoys exploring the Don River Valley Trails. Nicole is a psychotherapist and has worked in community settings that serve Indigenous young people and families who have witnessed or experienced violence. She has also worked in suicide prevention research for the past five years. Her current research interests centre on better understanding the ecological dimensions of suicide. She is invested in critical, narrative, feminist, and desire-driven approaches to research that are life affirming and promote justice doing."



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