Indigenous-informed counselling

Domain III · Humanistic, existential & experiential · Eduardo Duran · 1995

What it is

This is not a manualised therapy. It is a clinical approach and worldview developed by Eduardo Duran, a clinical psychologist (Apache/Tewa heritage per one event biography, which also mentions Lakota; sources differ) who has worked mostly in Native communities. He calls his model a hybrid one,…

Format

• No published phase protocol was found. Duran's sources give no fixed stages, session counts or criteria for moving between phases. He explicitly rejects checklists of culture-specific techniques. The sequence below is a working order put together from what he describes. Treat it as, not a Duran…
• Levels of intervention (Duran). He describes three levels: individual work restoring harmony of mind, body and spirit; community work (outreach, advocacy, healing services); and "healing the land", meaning attention to the bonds between people, all beings and the Earth, since harm to the…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Adherence rising. This never replaces medical advice.
• Overstepping into leadership roles that belong to the community.
• Premature meaning-making can bypass grief. Let the grief come first.
• Disclosures of domestic violence or child risk that trigger reporting duties.
• Signs of vicarious trauma or spiritual overwhelm in yourself or your trainees.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.