Indigenous

Indigenous Led

Qualia Counselling is co-owned by Charity Fleming, Anishinaabe Kwe fromTreaty 3, Wabauskang First Nation. Charity is an intergenerational survivor of the residential school and sixties scoop programs, and has dedicated her life to aiding the recovery of indigenous people from experiences and impacts of historical trauma. Charity is passionate about delivering inclusive and culturally responsive services, not just to indigenous people but people of varying identities and cultural contexts. Charity is also serving as the Indigenous Director for the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association.

Committed to Truth & Reconciliation

Qualia Counselling Services is committed to honour and work towards The Truth and Reconciliation Commissions Calls to Action published in 2015. It is our belief that it is within all of our interests to understand, acknowledge and respect the treaties of our service regions, including the Haldimand Treaty and the Dish with One Spoon Wampum.

Qualia values respectful and meaningful relationships with Indigenous peoples, agencies and communities on the lands where we provide our services. The mental health services and teaching we provide are rooted in culturally responsive approaches, centered with trauma-informed lens, and steeped in anti-racist frameworks. We are known as a workplace that honors Indigenous traditions and worldviews.

Specifically, as indigenous and non-indigenous community members we feel especially committed to Truth & Reconciliation because:

• We have staff members who have lived the legacy of residential school, sixties scoop and intergenerational impacts of ethno-cultural genocide. We honour you, mourn with you, and seek to support you as part of our organizational community.
• We support large indigenous client populations, who suffer the burden of illness we see as an outcome of Historical Trauma / genocide. We listen to your stories, we care for you and are passionate about helping you heal.
• We understand the impact on mental health that the history and legacy of residential school and other historical trauma brings
• Like indigenous people for millennia, we as psychotherapy and social work professionals see relationships and informal treaties that govern our interpersonal interactions as fundamental to the building blocks of better human experience, stronger families, and healthier more resilient communities. We want to create space for all people to be included, heard, and understood.

As an organization, Qualia sees reconciliation as an ongoing process and responsibility of all Canadians. We believe in valuing Indigenous community engagement, investment and continually supporting various give-back initiatives.

We see reconciliation as an opportunity for healing for all our relations.

This year, as part of our Truth and Reconciliation Corporate Strategy we commit to:

• Continue to foster a culture of Indigenous inclusion while actively engaging in Indigenous staff recruitment and retention.
• Continue to promote Indigenous Knowledge and Truth & Reconciliation training through our partnerships with Wilfrid Laurier University and McMaster Michael DeGroote School of Medicine
• Develop new Truth & Reconciliation Staff Orientation Training
• Provide ongoing training to all staff on Indigenous history, culture and knowledge through relevant and responsive staff lunch and learn opportunities, Group Clinical Staff Meetings and more
• Provide internal staff training for and train the trainers on Mikwendaagwad: It is Remembered, Sacred Circle Culturally Adapted CBT for indigenous populations
• Create a Truth and Reconciliation Social Media plan and education series
• Create advocacy opportunities and fundraising for Clean Water initiatives for First Nations
• Continue to honour and host Community Events for the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation; the National Day of Action (for missing and murdered indigenous girls and women) & National Indigenous Day
• Continue to be responsive to additional opportunities to mobilize, advocate for and educate for Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action
• Finally, in 2022, we wish to pursue the development of an Indigenous business plan strategy, which may feature:
  • Membership with Candian Council of Aboriginal Business
  • Yearly Indigenous community impact reports
  • Indigenous Procurement policy
  • Scholarships for post-secondary Indigenous Students in mental health fields
  • Yearly revisiting of our Reconciliation Strategies as a focus for our Leadership Team.
  • This is in response to, and encouragement of consideration of, calls upon the corporate sector in Canada to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a reconciliation framework and to apply its principles, norms, and standards to corporate policy and core operational activities involving Indigenous peoples and their lands and resources. This would include, but not be limited to, the following:
    • Commit to meaningful consultation, building respectful relationships, and obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before proceeding with economic development projects.
    • Ensure that Aboriginal peoples have equitable access to jobs, training, and education opportunities in the corporate sector, and that Aboriginal communities gain long-term sustainable benefits from economic development projects.
    • Provide education for management and staff on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

In previous years our focus in response to the Truth & Reconciliation Commissions Calls to Action we have:

• Advocated provincially and at the federal level for decreased barriers to access for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Health Canada services
• Invested financially to offer pro bono and ongoing indigenous programs and services despite ongoing barriers to financial repayment
• Focused on recruitment of indigenous staff, and coaching, mentoring and skills training to maintain indigenous staff members
• Committed to recruitment and supervision of indigenous professional students
• Committed to job creation and new position development for indigenous staff
• Invested in trauma informed training specifically to meet the needs of indigenous clients
• Focused on culturally responsive treatment and services

Decreasing Barriers to Access

Qualia Counselling Services works closely with Indigenous Norther Affairs and Health Canada to be able to provide status card holders our premium services at no cost to you. If you have questions about accessing our services, please contact us.

Experts Treating Historical Trauma

At Qualia Counselling, we have a strong clinical team trained in offering the very best trauma treatment possible, not only to treat individual experiences of trauma but also intergenerational and historical trauma experiences. Find out more about CBT for Trauma.

Innovative Mental Health Programs

We know that mental health needs vary from population to population and within different stages of development. We pride ourselves in delivering culturally responsive but also age responsive mental health treatment. In addition to indigenous counselling services, we deliver nature based mental health kids camps throughout the year, as well as specialty child and adolescent services.

Contact Us for more information or to register for our next kids/youth camps offerings.

Upcoming Events

We host community events throughout the year. We will update this section when we have an upcoming event. Our most recent event was a Gathering & Vigil for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation which can be viewed at this link.

Referral Process

You can contact us directly, or get a referral from another professional you are working with. We are happy to work with you in whatever manner is easiest so you can start your healing journey today.  Click to download a referral form.