Essay On Native American Mental Health

Native Americans have suffered many losses as settlers began forming what is known as the United States. Those losses can be identified as culture, religion, land, and language. It is important to understand what Native Americans have endured when working with this population. In addition to the continuous need for attention to mental health assessment, cultural obligations should be evaluated and interwoven in clinical practice. Native Americans have suffered much loss, but mental health continues to be an ignored issue among many different tribes across the nation. Healing from any abnormality requires consistency of medical therapies as well as fulfilling the cultural needs of Native Americans.
Historical trauma is the accumulation of emotional and psychological wounding that has occurred to a specific population over many generations. In understanding mental health, it is important to know what types of historical trauma the client may have undergone. Some historical traumas have occurred …show more content…
The author West has suggested bringing back the basics of healing mental health issues into something that was preformed in primitive eras. With the increase of mental health issues in Native America, its important to explore every option as it might be a possible solution. Native Americans may have difficulty seeking suggested services for Mental Health issues as they have been coaxed and promised items in lieu of relocation onto reservations. In the Native American youth of today, it is very likely that they have experienced a loss of culture, land, language, and traditional way of life. These types of clients are often more likely to self medicate and participate in risky behavior in today’s society. The ways that self-medication occurred in the sense of alcohol, increased acts of physical aggression, increased sexual activities, and illegal