GROUP-THERAPY OF ABORIGINAL OFFENDERS IN A CANADIAN FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIC FACILITY

In recent years, the use of group therapy approaches with Aboriginal o r Native Canadians/American Indians has become widely accepted. Howeve r, many advocates of this approach rarely consider the implications of group therapy for culturally heterogeneous groups, such as when non-A boriginal peoples are involved or when there are Aboriginal peoples fr om different cultures and/or with different degrees of orientation to Euro-Canadian culture. This article documents the use of one form of g roup therapy for Aboriginal offenders in a forensic psychiatric facili ty, where this degree of cultural heterogeneity exists. The article co ncludes that, at least within a forensic psychiatric setting group the rapies that mirror the social, cultural, racial, and class structures of Euro-Canadian society are problematic in the treatment of tradition al Aboriginal offenders but much less so for acculturated Aboriginal o ffenders.