The Indigenous Patient-Led (IPL) CPD Program aims to improve Indigenous health outcomes by increasing access to culturally safe care for Indigenous Peoples and communities in rural and remote BC. The program guides education and resource development for rural health professionals to build cultural humility and capacity to deliver culturally safe, trauma sensitive care. Our work recognizes that everyone who engages with Indigenous communities must be trauma-informed to mitigate the risk of further harm.

We believe that trauma-sensitive practices are the basis for offering culturally safe and respectful health services for Indigenous relatives, as colonization has created a legacy of intergenerational trauma, which impacts people’s present day realities.

To support providers in acquiring and strengthening these skills, we have developed a practice curriculum for rural providers, Nawh Whu’nus’en - We See in Two Worlds: Trauma Sensitive Practices for Collectively Healing in Relationship. The program is rooted in Two-Eyed seeing methodology, weaving together Indigenous ways of knowing with Western trauma theory and neuroscience, including Dr. Michael Yellow Bird’s work on neurodecolonization and Dr. Stephen Porges’ work on polyvagal theory. The curriculum also builds on the immense power of experiential Indigenous land-based healing practices for maintaining wellness.

Learning objectives

At the end of the course, participants will be able to:  

• Name the systems of oppression that are the source of trauma in Indigenous communities and situate the responsibility of ongoing hard on these systems rather than pathologizing individuals
• Embody and employ tangible trauma-sensitive practices for offering health care rooted in cultural understanding and safety for Indigenous Peoples.  
• Strengthen an understanding of ancestral land-based healing modalities that have supported trauma release for millennia.
• Identify polyvagal theory and its implications for supporting trauma recovery with Indigenous patients.
• Deepen empathy and co-regulatory skills as a way of dismantling racism in the health-care system and contributing to collective healing.

Outline   

Level 1 - Online Introductory Session (Online Workshop: 3 hours)

Level 1 introduces how historical and ongoing oppression has shaped Indigenous Peoples’ collective, individual, and intergenerational trauma, and how trauma commonly presents in medical settings. Participants are introduced to land-based healing, neurodecolonization, and polyvagal theory, with examples demonstrating their relevance in health care. This workshop emphasizes the power of co-regulation through Indigenous and trauma-sensitive practices.

Target audience: Health professionals who serve or practice in rural BC

Level 2 - Online In-Depth Sessions (3 Workshops: 2.5 hours each)

Level 2 offers a deeper dive into trauma, trauma-sensitive care and somatic practice. The workshops aim to build skills for creating neuroception of safety and optimizing relational availability, understanding colonized mindsets and its impact, shame resilience, and working with survival physiologies (fight, flight, freeze, and fawn). Participants practice trauma-sensitive skills and self-regulation through case studies and demonstrations.

Target audience: Participants with Level 1 completed

Community of Practice - (Online Quarterly Session: 1.5 hours)

This online session is an opportunity to connect with fellow practitioners to ask questions, share experiences, and explore the use of trauma-sensitive skills in practice.

Target audience: Participants with Level 2 completed 

Register for upcoming workshops:

Level 1

Mar 3, 2026 (Tue) 5:30-8:30 p.m. PT | Virtual Workshop

May 5, 2026 (Tue) 5:30-8:30 p.m. PT | Virtual Workshop

Level 2

Feb. 3, Feb. 10, Feb. 17, 2025 (3 x Tue) 6:00–8:30 p.m. PT | Virtual workshop series    

*Please note that completion of Level 1 is a prerequisite for enrolling in Level 2 of this curriculum 

Community or Practice in Relationship (COPIR)

March 10, 2026 (Tue) 12:00-1:30 p.m. PT | Virtual session

June 9, 2026 (Tue) 12:00-1:30 p.m. PT | Virtual session