Joseph Trimble speaks on establishing culturally affirmative clinical environments

Joseph E. Trimble (Psychology) delivered an invited address titled “Cultural Resonance, Competence, and Relational Collaboration with Native American Indians” at the 118th annual conference of the American Psychological Association in August in San Diego.

The lecture emphasized the deep cultural principles necessary to establish a culturally affirmative clinical environment. Establishing culturally affirmative environments is essential for influencing successful therapeutic outcomes. To accomplish this goal one should express respect for culture as a necessary psychological defense and design interventions accordingly; promote interventions emphasizing meaning construction at the community level and support the collective community and individual construction of meaning that sustains adaptive action; support and assist individuals and communities in the identification of standards and values within the cultural worldview they identify with that promotes adaptive action in current realities; and support and assist communities in cultural recovery through collaborative content analysis of traditional stories.