Walking With the North: My Work in Fort Good Hope and Hay River

There are places in Canada where the land speaks loudly, where community is not just a word but a way of life.

My work in Fort Good Hope and Hay River has transformed not only how I practice mental health therapy, but how I understand healing itself.

Working in remote northern Indigenous communities is not simply clinical work. It is relational work. It is historical work. It is spiritual work. And above all, it is human work.

Mental Health Cannot Be Separated From History

In both Fort Good Hope and Hay River, I witnessed the strength, resilience, humor, and cultural richness of Indigenous communities. I also witnessed the deep impact of colonization, intergenerational trauma, systemic inequities, and historical displacement.

Mental health in the North cannot be treated in isolation from these realities.

When we sit with someone experiencing anxiety, depression, or substance use challenges, we must understand the broader story — the community story, the family story, the cultural story.

Therapy in these spaces requires humility. It requires listening before speaking. It requires cultural respect before clinical intervention.

Addiction Is Not a Choice — It Is Unresolved Pain

One of the most profound shifts in my professional journey has been how I see addiction.

Addiction is not weakness.

Addiction is not moral failure.

Addiction is not simply “bad decisions.”

Addiction is pain trying to survive.

In Fort Good Hope and Hay River, I have seen how substance use is often connected to grief, loss, trauma, identity disruption, and historical harm. When people do not feel safe enough to process their pain, they often numb it.

As a mental health therapist, my role is not to judge the behavior. My role is to understand the wound beneath it.

Trauma-informed care changes everything. When we remove shame and replace it with compassion, healing becomes possible.

Returning to Holistic Living

There was a time when Indigenous communities lived holistically — deeply connected to land, culture, spirituality, and one another.

Healing is not about changing communities.

Healing is about restoring balance.

Culture is medicine.

Land is medicine.

Community is medicine.

Elders are medicine.

My passion is to support communities in strengthening what has always been there — identity, belonging, and cultural grounding — while integrating mental health supports that are respectful and collaborative.

Western psychology alone is not enough. Healing must align with cultural values and community voice.

My Role in Community Healing

In Fort Good Hope and Hay River, my work has extended beyond individual therapy sessions. It has meant:

• Building trust in spaces where systems have not always felt safe

• Supporting individuals navigating trauma and grief

• Addressing addiction through a trauma-informed lens

• Encouraging youth to reconnect with identity and hope

• Collaborating with leadership and service providers

Mental health is community health.

When one person heals, a family feels it.

When families strengthen, communities shift.

My passion is not simply to provide therapy — it is to contribute to rebuilding wellness.

A Growing Commitment to the North

My experience in Fort Good Hope and Hay River has deepened my commitment to serving remote northern Indigenous communities. These communities have shaped how I view healing, resilience, and responsibility as a therapist.

This work is not about “fixing” communities.

It is about walking alongside them.

It is about honouring strength while addressing pain.

My goal is to see healthy communities — communities grounded in culture, safety, dignity, and holistic wellness.

Communities where mental health is understood through compassion.

Where addiction is met with support, not shame.

Where trauma is acknowledged and gently healed.

Where future generations can grow in strength, identity, and peace.

This is more than a profession for me.

It is a calling.

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