First Nations counsellor training in British Columbia: strengthening the circle

First Nations people in British Columbia are struggling to overcome the effects of assimilationist practices and cultural loss. Many of the mental health problems facing First Nations people today can be traced to this loss. Their communities believe the best way to address this problem is by training their own people as mental health professionals who could then provide informed and culturally relevant counselling services. In the spring of 1996 a province-wide survey was conducted to determine the nature of counsellor training needed by First Nations people in the province of British Columbia. This article describes the rationale for this survey and the results.