Envisioning Deep Collaboration Between Psychiatry And Traditional Ways Of Knowing In A British Columbia First Nations Setting: A Personal Reflection

Abstract

In this paper, I draw on my experiences of providing psychiatric outreach services to indigenous communities near Chilliwack, B.C. over the course of a two and a half year period. The principle aim of the paper is to critically examine and reflect on the concept of collaboration as it pertains to psychiatric services on Canadian First Nation communities. The hope is that doing so will inform the work of others engaged in service development and delivery in similar settings. The analysis proceeds through a combination of personal reflection and critical reading of pertinent literature. Emerging from the analysis is a tripartite conceptualization of collaboration thatrecognizes the value of structural or organizational collaboration but which, at the same time, acknowledges the possibility of and calls for a deeper level collaborative approach. A multi-level conceptualization of collaboration then is envisioned in this paper; one that encompasses the notions of collaboration at ‘deep’ and ‘ideological’ in addition to ‘surface’ levels. Barriers to the realization of such a multi-level collaboration are examined and discussed.