Working with Native Americans

Dr Winona F. Simms illustrates her approach to working with clients who are of Native American descent. Because of a history of oppression by the dominant culture, Native American clients may present for therapy with distrust in the therapist, so it is important to first build trust and to allow the client to speak and be heard. In this session, Dr. Simms demonstrates how she instills trust in a new client, a young woman of the Winnebago and Sioux nations who is experiencing some tensions in her family regarding her school performance and her relationship with her biological father. Dr. Simms helps the client to view the problems she is having from the broader perspective of becoming an adult member of her family.