Pathway 4 Cultural Empowerment

Abstract

In Pathway 4 the authors introduce the theme of strengthening cultural empowerment as a foundation for leaning into building a therapeutic relationship centred in hope and care. They introduce the complementary processes of trauma-informed care and compassion-informed care, recognizing that even in the midst of the most difficult situations people carry with them the strengths of cultural teachings and community connection. Together these relational practices attend to the interplay of person, community, and environment in understanding each person’s lived experiences. Trauma-informed care deepens client’s sense of cultural safety, fostered in Pathway 3, by empowering clients to make active choices related to health, healing, and care. Compassion-informed care enhances trauma-informed care through the Indigenous practice of relationality. Trust and safety are fostered through interconnectedness, reciprocity, and shared humanity. Compassion-informed care acknowledges suffering while simultaneously attending to client stories of joy, resiliency, and cultural empowerment. Hope emerges through being seen and heard from a place of compassion, cultural humility, and deep respect for culture-centred ways of knowing, being, and doing. Self-compassion can reduce the misplaced shame and internalized oppression arising from trauma, colonialism, racial violence, and other forms of cultural oppression.

Co-Authors

Melissa Jay (she/her), PhD, RPsych, is a cisgender nehiyaw (Cree) member of the Métis Nation of Alberta and lifelong student of yoga philosophy. She is a cisgender, able-bodied woman who moves through the world with white-passing privilege. She is a psychologist and associate professor at Athabasca University. Her work is centred in reciprocity and relationship, decolonized healing, anti-oppressive practices, and the integration of ancient wisdom and psychology. Her intention is to share trauma-informed, culturally responsive care, alongside her ongoing collaborative research exploring relational accountability, Indigenous methodologies, and ethical engagement with community.

Jessie King (she/her), PhD. Hadiksm Gaax di waayu. Jessie has matrilineal ties to Gitxaała, belonging to the Ganhada. She is also settler-European Irish/English on her father’s side. She is an experienced instructor, facilitator, and researcher with a background in health, philosophy, and research design. Her areas of specialization include cultural safety, Indigenous rights and contemporary issues, research methodologies, decolonization and Indigenization, and instructional design. She is living on the traditional and unceded territories of Lheidli T’enneh.

Sandra Collins (she/her), PhD, is a co-editor of this book. She writes from the perspective of a feminist, lesbian, cisgender, woman with an invisible disability, who is a white, retired professor, and inhabits a privileged social class. Over the 25 years of her academic and professional career, she focused her research, writing, and teaching on cultural responsivity and social justice in theory, research, and practice. This is her fifth book on these topics, two of which were awarded the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Counselling biannual book award. She also received a silver medal for best e-book design by the Independent Publisher Book Awards. 

Citation

Jay, M., King, J., & Collins, S. (2025). Pathway 4 Strengthening cultural empowerment. In S. Collins and M. Jay (Eds.), Decolonizing health, healing, and care: Embodying culturally responsive and socially just counselling (Chapter 4.0). Counselling Concepts. https://doi.org/10.71446/di84087974