Healing circles and healing camps

Domain V · Systemic, relational, group & community

What it is

"Healing circles and healing camps" is not one therapy but a family of community-owned Indigenous practices. Healing circles are gatherings in which people sit in a circle and speak, listen and take part in ceremony under the guidance of Elders, Knowledge Keepers or a community healing team;…

Format

• D. Healing camps (land-based). Format varies by community:
• Session count and dose: single circles, weekly themed circles, retreats, week-long gatherings, 90-day camps and a five-year process are all published. Choose according to what the community programme offers, not a fixed protocol.

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

• gaps from family secrecy or loss; distress about unknown relatives; pace the work.
• current intimate partner violence or child protection concerns, which need safety planning first.
• flashbacks; AHF lists bringing people back from a flashback as a training need for frontline workers.
• physical health, medications and withdrawal risk in remote settings; family or work obligations that lead to early exit.
• sliding into leading cultural activities; offering clinical tools that clash with the programme's teachings without discussion.

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.