Selected Publications

School psychologists play important roles in working alongside Indigenous Peoples within Canada; however, a large gap exists between the discipline’s actions and the recommendations set forth by Indigenous Nations and governmental working groups. In this conceptual article, we seek to highlight the need for further Indigenous representation and engagement in the field of school psychology, as well as present key areas of relevance. We first briefly contextualize the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and school psychology, followed by the results of a brief survey concerning Indigenous representation and engagement across five school psychology doctoral programs in Canada. Next, we discuss nine key areas of consideration for school psychologists based on the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Each area of consideration provides school psychologists with a starting point for concrete actions when working with Indigenous students, families, and communities.

Bernett, P., Spence, S., Wilson, C., Gurr, E., Zentner, D., & Wendt, D. C. (2023). Canadian School Psychology and Indigenous Peoples: Opportunities and recommendations. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 38(1), 10–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/08295735231151281

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/08295735231151281

This issue of the Canadian Journal of School Psychology is the first of two parts of a special issue devoted to the intersection of school psychology and Indigenous Peoples within the Canadian context. Given the limited existing literature that is squarely focused on this intersection, the articles in these two issues are collectively a substantive academic contribution to school psychology educators, practitioners, researchers, and students. These articles challenge mainstream practice, training, ethics, and intervention approaches within school psychology, while also describing exemplary collaborations with Indigenous communities and advancements in Indigenizing and decolonizing school psychology training and practice.

Schroeder, M., Lacerda-Vandenborn, E., Nelson, M., & Wendt, D. C. (2023). Introduction to the Special Issue–School psychology and Indigenous Peoples: Critical Perspectives and Indigenous-led Approaches. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 38(1), 3-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/08295735231156984

https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/cjsa/38/1

Objective: This conceptual article addresses "best practices" for Indigenous Peoples in the United States and Canada. This topic is "thorny" both pragmatically (e.g., rare representation in clinical trials) and ethically (e.g., ongoing settler colonialism). Method: We outline four potential approaches, or "paths," in conceptualizing best practices for psychotherapy: (a) limiting psychotherapy to empirically supported treatments, (b) prioritizing the use of culturally adapted interventions, (c) focusing on common factors of psychotherapy, and (d) promoting grassroots Indigenous approaches and traditional healing. Results: Lessons from our four-path journey include (a) the limits of empirically supported treatments, which are inadequate in number and scope when it comes to Indigenous clients, (b) the value of prioritizing interventions that are culturally adapted and/or evaluated for use with Indigenous populations, (c) the importance of common factors of evidence-based practice, alongside the danger of psychotherapy as a covert assimilative enterprise, and (d) the need to support traditional and grassroots cultural interventions that promote "culture-as-treatment." Conclusions: A greater commitment to community-engaged research and cultural humility is necessary to promote Indigenous mental health, including greater attention to supporting traditional healing and Indigenous-led cultural interventions.

Wendt, D. C., Huson, K., Albatnuni, M., & Gone, J. P. (2022). What are the best practices for psychotherapy with Indigenous Peoples in the United States and Canada? A thorny question. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 90(10), 802–814. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000757

https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/articles/w9505580v?locale=en

We present a narrative case study of an urban American Indian male college student who integrated Indigenous and professional therapies during an acute period of stress, loss, and depression. The first published case of an American Indian in an urban context, this article expands on previous clinical cases by focusing on the perspective of the client relative to his own conceptions of help-seeking behaviors. Based on qualitative analysis of five audio-recorded interviews, this case utilizes an innovative methodology to portray four approaches to healing (medication, counseling, bonding, and spirituality), which contribute to holistic well-being. Implications for counseling psychologists include being aware of how some American Indian clients may (a) view professional treatment dynamics through a Native cultural lens (e.g., seeing ideal communication as a “rhythm”); (b) utilize an expanded range of therapeutic agents; (c) resist medication for cultural and spiritual reasons; and (d) refrain from discussing spiritual matters with professionals.

Wendt, D. C., & Gone. J. P. (2016). Integrating professional and Indigenous therapies: An urban American Indian narrative clinical case study. The Counseling Psychologist, 44(5), 695–729. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000016638741

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5007066/

Multicultural professional psychologists routinely assert that psychotherapeutic interventions require culturally competent delivery for ethnoracial minority clients to protect the distinctive cultural orientations of these clients. Dominant disciplinary conceptualizations of cultural competence are "kind of person" models that emphasize specialized awareness, knowledge, and skills on the part of the practitioner. Even within psychology, this approach to cultural competence is controversial owing to professional misgivings concerning its culturally essentialist assumptions. Unfortunately, alternative "process-oriented" models of cultural competence emphasize such generic aspects of therapeutic interaction that they remain in danger of losing sight of culture altogether. Thus, for cultural competence to persist as a meaningful construct, an alternative approach that avoids both essentialism and generalism must be recovered. One means to capture this alternative is to shift focus away from culturally competent therapists toward culturally commensurate therapies. Indigenous communities in North America represent interesting sites for exploring this shift, owing to widespread political commitments to Aboriginal cultural reclamation in the context of postcoloniality. Two examples from indigenous communities illustrate a continuum of cultural commensurability that ranges from global psychotherapeutic approaches at one end to local healing traditions at the other. Location of culturally integrative efforts by indigenous communities along this continuum illustrates the possibility for local, agentic, and intentional deconstructions and reconstructions of mental health interventions in a culturally hybrid fashion.

Wendt, D. C., & Gone, J. P. (2012). Rethinking cultural competence: Insights from Indigenous community treatment settings. Transcultural Psychiatry, 49(2), 206–222. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461511425622

The field of clinical-psychological science exists in a broader field of psychology that is increasingly acknowledged as embedded in racist and white-supremacist history. In the production of clinical-psychological science, the clinical science model predominates as one of the most influential scientific voices that emphasizes the value of rigorous scientific theory, training, and praxis. We highlight some of the ways in which the clinical science model has neglected anti-racism. By examining the idiosyncratic development of the clinical science model in clinical-psychological science, we outline how its failure to contend with systemic racism in the field propagates a racist subdiscipline. Our hope is that by enacting difficult self-reflection, we invite other stakeholders in our field to think more critically about how systemic racism and white supremacy pervade our structures and institutions and to begin making more concrete changes that move the clinical-psychological-science field toward explicit anti-racism.

Rodriguez-Seijas, C., McClendon, J., Wendt, D. C., Novacek, D. M., Ebalu, T., Hallion, L., Hassan, N. Y., Huson, K., Spielmans, G. I., Folk, J. B., Khazem, J. L., Neblett, E. W., Cunningham, T. J., Hampton-Anderson, J., Steinman, S. A., Hamilton, J. L., & Mekawi, Y. (2023). The next generation of clinical-psychological science: Moving toward antiracism. Clinical Psychological Science. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/21677026231156545

https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/mhdx8

Syntheses of literature on psychological interventions have defined the state of knowledge and helped to identify evidence-based practices for researchers, practitioners, educators and policymakers. Nevertheless, it is complicated to appraise the usefulness of syntheses owing to long-standing methodological issues and the rapid rate of research production. In this Perspective, we examine how syntheses of psychological interventions could be more useful. We argue that syntheses should move beyond the myopic lens of intervention impact based on a one-time, contested selection of literature and comprehensible only to intensively trained readers. Rather, syntheses should become ‘living’ documents that integrate data on intervention impact, consistency, research credibility and sampling inclusivity, all of which must then be presented in a modular way that is also accessible to people of limited expertise. Although existing resources make pursuit of this goal possible, reaching it will require a dramatic change in the ways in which psychologists collaborate and in which syntheses are conducted, disseminated and institutionally supported.

Sakaluk, J. K., De Santis, C., Kilshaw, R., Pittelkow, M.-M., Brandes, C. M., Boness, C. L., Botanov, Y., Williams, A. J., Wendt, D. C., Lorenzo-Luaces, L., Schleider, J. & van Ravenzwaaij, D. (2023). Reconsidering what makes syntheses of psychological intervention studies useful. Nature Reviews Psychology, 2(9), 569–583. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-023-00213-9

In recent years, psychologists have been increasingly concerned about potentially harmful therapy (PHT), yet this recent discourse has not addressed issues that have long been voiced by the multicultural counseling and psychotherapy movement. We aim to begin to bring these seemingly disparate discourses of harm into greater conversation with one another, in the service of placing the discipline on a firmer foothold in its considerations of PHT. After reviewing the two discourses and exploring reasons for their divergence, we argue that they operate according to differing assumptions pertaining to the sources, objects, and scope of harm. We then argue that these differences reveal the discipline’s need to better appreciate that harm is a social construct, that psychotherapy may be inherently ethnocentric, and that strategies for collecting evidence of harm should be integrated with a social justice agenda.

Wendt, D. C., Gone, J. P., & Nagata, D. K. (2015). Potentially Harmful Therapy and Multicultural Counseling: Bridging Two Disciplinary Discourses Ψ. The Counseling Psychologist, 43(3), 334-358. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000014548280

https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000014548280

In this rejoinder, we address three responses to our major contribution in this issue, “Potentially Harmful Therapy and Multicultural Counseling: Bridging Two Disciplinary Discourses.” These responses support our contention that not only are the potentially harmful therapy and multicultural counseling and psychotherapy literatures quite disparate, but that this compartmentalization is a symptom of broad and serious problems in the discipline. We explore further some of the underlying complexities the responding authors have raised, including (a) systemic ways that the current landscape of psychotherapy research maintains the status quo, thereby limiting a desirable integration of the two literatures; (b) complexities associated with multiple aspects of diversity, including the inadequacy of current professional ethical codes and practitioner training for addressing potential harm for disparate and vulnerable populations; and (c) the need for the discipline to articulate collective “goods” (against which conceptions of harm are at least implicitly formulated).

Wendt, D. C., Gone, J. P., & Nagata, D. K. (2015). Potentially Harmful Therapy and Multicultural Counseling: Extending the Conversation. The Counseling Psychologist, 43(3), 393-403. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000015576801

https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000015576801

In its policy rationale for evidence-based practice in psychology (EBPP), the APA Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice claims to have constituted itself with "scientists and practitioners from a wide range of perspectives and traditions, reflecting the diverse perspectives within the field" (p. 273). We applaud this attention to diversity but contend that an entire perspective of the debate was omitted in the Task Force's newly approved policy and its underlying report. The failure to consider a philosophy of science perspective led the Task Force to make a number of epistemological assumptions that are not based on evidence or rationale and that thus violate the very spirit of evidence-based decision making. In this comment, we reveal a few of these assumptions and discuss their detrimental consequences.

Wendt, D. C., & Slife, B. D. (2007). Is evidence-based practice diverse enough? Philosophy of science considerations. American Psychologist, 62(6), 613–614. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X62.6.613

Indigenous Peoples experience disproportionately higher rates of problematic substance use. These problems are situated in a context of individual and intergenerational trauma from colonization, residential schools, and racist and discriminatory practices, policies, and services. Therefore, substance use interventions need to adopt a trauma-informed approach. We aimed to synthesize and report the current literature exploring the intersection of trauma and substance use interventions for Indigenous Peoples. Fourteen databases were searched using keywords for Indigenous Peoples, trauma, and substance use. Of the 1373 sources identified, 117 met inclusion criteria. Literature on trauma and substance use with Indigenous Peoples has increased in the last 5 years (2012–2016, n = 29; 2017–2021, n = 48), with most literature coming from the United States and Canada and focusing on historical or intergenerational trauma. Few articles focused on intersectional identities such as 2SLGBTQIA+ (n = 4), and none focused on veterans. There were limited sources (n = 25) that reported specific interventions at the intersection of trauma and substance use. These sources advocate for multi-faceted, trauma-informed, and culturally safe interventions for use with Indigenous Peoples. This scoping review illuminates gaps in the literature and highlights a need for research reporting on trauma-informed interventions for substance use with Indigenous Peoples.

Pride, T., Lam, A., Swansburg, J., Seno, M., Lowe, M. B., Bomfim, E., Toombs, E., Marsan, S., LoRusso, J., Roy, J., Gurr, E., LaFontaine, J., Paul, J., Burack, J. A., Mushquash, C., Stewart, S. H., & Wendt, D. C. (2021). Trauma-informed approaches to substance use interventions with Indigenous Peoples: A scoping review. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 53(5), 460–473. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2021.1992047

https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/articles/h702qc70v?locale=en

This commentary focuses on how some Indigenous communities in the United States (U.S.) and Canada are addressing the opioid epidemic within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, from the perspective of the co-authors as researchers, clinicians, and pharmacists working within or among Indigenous communities in three eastern Canadian provinces and two western U.S. states. The pandemic has likely exacerbated opioid use problems among Indigenous communities, especially for individuals with acute distress or comorbid mental illness, or who are in need of withdrawal management or residential services. In response to the pandemic, we discuss first how greater prescription flexibility has facilitated and even increased access to medications for opioid use disorder. Second, we describe how Indigenous-serving clinics have expanded telemedicine services, albeit not without some challenges. Third, we note challenges with restricted participation in traditional Indigenous healing practices that can be helpful for addiction recovery. Fourth, we mention providers' worries about the pandemic's impact on their patients' mental health and safety. We argue that certain treatment transformations may be helpful even after the pandemic is over, through enhancing access to community-grounded treatment, decreasing stigma, and promoting patient self-efficacy.

Wendt, D. C., Marsan, S., Parker, D., Lizzy, K. E., Roper, J., Mushquash, C., Venner, K. L., Lam, A., Swansburg, J., Worth, N., Sorlagas, N., Quach, T., Manoukian, K., Bernett, P., & Radin, S. M. (2021). Commentary on the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on opioid use disorder treatment among indigenous communities in the United States and Canada. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 121, 108165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2020.108165

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2020.108165

Wendt, D. C. (2019, December). “Careful the tale you tell”: Indigenous Peoples and alcohol use problems. Psynopsis (Magazine of the Canadian Psychological Association), 41(3), pp. 11, 13.

(English): https://cpa.ca/docs/File/Psynopsis/2019/Psynopsis_Vol41-3.pdf (English) https://cpa.ca/docs/File/Psynopsis/2019-Vol41-3_FR/index.html (Français

Many Indigenous communities are concerned with substance use problems and eager to advance effective solutions for their prevention and treatment. Yet these communities also are concerned about the perpetuation of colonizing, disorder-focused, stigmatizing approaches to mental health and social narratives related to substance use problems. Foundational principles of community psychology—ecological perspectives, empowerment, socio-cultural competence, community inclusion and partnership, and reflective practice—provide useful frameworks for informing ethical community-based research pertaining to substance use problems conducted with and by Indigenous communities. These principles are explored and extended for Indigenous community contexts through themes generated from seven collaborative studies focused on understanding, preventing, and treating substance use problems. These studies are generated from research teams working with Indigenous communities across the United States and Canada—inclusive of urban, rural, and reservation/reserve populations as well as adult and youth participants. Shared themes indicate that Indigenous substance use research reflects community psychology principles, as an outgrowth of research agendas and processes that are increasingly guided by Indigenous communities. At the same time, this research challenges these principles in important ways pertaining to Indigenous-settler relations and Indigenous-specific considerations. We discuss these challenges and recommend greater synergy between community psychology and Indigenous research.

Wendt, D. C., Hartmann, W. E., Allen, J. A., Burack, J. A., Charles, B., D’Amico, E., Dell, C. A., Dickerson, D. L., Donovan, D. M., Gone, J. P., O’Connor, R. M., Radin, S. M., Rasmus, S. R., Venner, K. L., & Walls, M. L. (2019). Substance use research with Indigenous communities: Exploring and extending foundational principles of community psychology. American Journal of Community Psychology, 64(1–2), 146–158. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12363

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6777961/

The U.S. is experiencing an alarming opioid epidemic, and although American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) are especially hard hit, there is a paucity of opioid-related treatment research with these communities. AI/ANs are second only to Whites in the U.S. for overdose mortality. Thus, the National Institute on Drug Abuse convened a meeting of key stakeholders to elicit feedback on the acceptability and uptake of medication assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorders (OUDs) among AI/ANs. Five themes from this one-day meeting emerged: (1) the mismatch between Western secular and reductionistic medicine and the AI/AN holistic healing tradition; (2) the need to integrate MAT into AI/AN traditional healing; (3) the conflict between standardized MAT delivery and the traditional AI/AN desire for healing to include being medicine free; (4) systemic barriers; and (5) the need to improve research with AI/ANs using culturally relevant methods. Discussion is organized around key implementation strategies informed by these themes and necessary for the successful adoption of MAT in AI/AN communities: (1) type of medication; (2) educational interventions; (3) coordination of care; and (4) adjunctive psychosocial counseling. Using a community-based participatory research approach is consistent with a “two eyed seeing” approach that integrates Western and Indigenous worldviews. Such an approach is needed to develop impactful research in collaboration with AI/AN communities to address OUD health disparities.

Venner, K. L., Donovan, D. M., Campbell, A. N. C., Wendt, D. C., Rieckmann, T., Radin, S., Momper, S. L., & Rosa, C. L. (2018). Future directions for medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder with American Indians/Alaska Natives. Addictive Behaviors, 86, 111–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.05.017

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6129390/

Engagement in religious and spiritual practices may be protective for homeless individuals with alcohol-related problems. However, little is known in this regard for urban-dwelling American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) who have disproportionately high rates of homelessness and co-occurring alcohol use problems. Using secondary data from a nonrandomized controlled study testing a Housing First intervention, AI/AN participants (n = 52) and non-AI/AN participants (n = 82) were compared on demographic variables, alcohol use problems, religious affiliations, and religious/spiritual practices (importance, frequency, and type). AI/ANs who engaged in Native-specific independent spiritual practices had significantly lower alcohol use frequency in comparison to AI/ANs who did not.

Wendt, D. C., Collins, S. E., Nelson, L. A., Serafini, K., Clifasefi, S. L., & Donovan, D. M. (2017). Religious and Spiritual Practices Among Home-less Urban American Indians and Alaska Natives with Severe Alcohol Problems. American Indian and Alaska native mental health research (Online), 24(3), 39–62. https://doi.org/10.5820/aian.2403.2017.39

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6287631/

With the essential goal of de-pathologizing Indigenous ways of being, we challenge the notion that behaviors indicative of shyness and inhibition that are often noted among the Indigenous peoples of North America reflect psychopathology. Rather, we highlight the role of shyness as adaptive within traditional Indigenous conceptualizations of development and socialization. We cite ways that shyness and behavioral inhibition are portrayed by Indigenous scholars, mental health workers, researchers, and youth as culturally appropriate, socially desirable, and even essential to communal social harmony. We also note that the commonalities regarding the value of shyness and behavioral inhibition both as adaptive for the individual and as essential for communal cohesion and well-being are striking in the face of the vast differences across the many Indigenous communities with regard to culture, language, locale, and even history. The relatively universal emphasis on Indigenous cultures of viewing oneself as a small part of the great universe is essential to the development of the pro-social values that lead to the development of ways of being that are characterized by little egocentrism, but high levels of humility, consideration, and awareness of the social and physical surroundings.

Gurr, Erin & Namdari, Razieh & Lai, Jessica & Parker, Daniel & Wendt, Dennis. (2020). Perspective on Shyness as Adaptive from Indigenous Peoples of North America. 10.1007/978-3-030-38877-5_13.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, the construct of historical trauma was introduced into the clinical and health science literatures to contextualize, describe, and explain disproportionately high rates of psychological distress and health disparities among Indigenous populations. As a conceptual precursor to racial trauma, Indigenous historical trauma (IHT) is distinguished by its emphasis on ancestral adversity that is intergenerationally transmitted in ways that compromise descendent well-being. In this systematic review of the health impacts of IHT, 32 empirical articles were identified that statistically analyzed the relationship between a measure of IHT and a health outcome for Indigenous samples from the United States and Canada. These articles were categorized based on their specific method for operationalizing IHT, yielding 19 articles that were grouped as historical loss studies, 11 articles that were grouped as residential school ancestry studies, and three articles that were grouped as "other" studies. Articles in all three categories included diverse respondents, disparate designs, varied statistical techniques, and a range of health outcomes. Most reported statistically significant associations between higher indicators of IHT and adverse health outcomes. Analyses were so complex, and findings were so specific, that this groundbreaking literature has yet to cohere into a body of knowledge with clear implications for health policy or professional practice. At the conceptual level, it remains unclear whether IHT is best appreciated for its metaphorical or literal functions. Nevertheless, the enthusiasm surrounding IHT as an explanation for contemporary Indigenous health problems renders it imperative to refine the construct to enable more valid research.

Gone, J. P., Hartmann, W. E., Pomerville, A., Wendt, D. C., Klem, S. H., & Burrage, R. L. (2019). The impact of historical trauma on health outcomes for Indigenous populations in the USA and Canada: A systematic review. American Psychologist, 74(1), 20–35. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000338

https://psycnet.apa.org/manuscript/2019-01033-003.pdf

The American Indian historical trauma (HT) concept is an important precursor to racial trauma (RT) theory that reflects the distinct interests of sovereign Indigenous nations but shares much of the same promise and challenge. Here, that promise and challenge is explored by tracing HT’s theoretical development in terms of its anti-colonial ambitions and organizing ideas. Three predominant modes of engaging HT were distilled form the literature (HT as a clinical condition, life stressor, and critical discourse), each informing a research program pursuing a different anti-colonial ambition (healing trauma, promoting resilience, practicing survivance) organized by distinct ideas about colonization, wellness, and Indigeneity. Through critical reflection on these different ambitions and dialogue of their organizing ideas, conflict between research programs can be mitigated and a more productive anti-colonialism realized in psychology and related health fields. Key recommendations emphasized clarifying clinical concepts (e.g., clinical syndrome vs. idiom of distress), disentangling clinical narratives of individual pathology (e.g., trauma) from social narratives of population adversity (e.g., survivance stories), attending to features of settler-colonialism not easily captured by heath indices (e.g., structural violence), and encouraging alignment of anti-colonial efforts with constructive critiques establishing conceptual bridges to disciplines that can help to advance psychological understandings of colonization and Indigenous wellness (e.g., postcolonial studies). This conceptual framework was applied to the RT literature to elaborate similar recommendations for advancing RT theory and the interests of ethnic/racial minority populations through engagement with psychology and related health fields.

Hartmann, W. E., Wendt, D. C., Burrage, R. L., Pomerville, A., & Gone, J. P. (2019). American Indian historical trauma: Anticolonial prescriptions for healing, resilience, and survivance. American Psychologist, 74(1), 6–19. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000326

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6338218/

We engage and extend the concept of therapeutic landscapes through a case study at an urban American Indian health organization in the Midwestern United States. This case affords insights at the unique confluence of indigeneity and urbanization, prompting us to coin the construct "urban-indigenous therapeutic landscapes" to characterize such sites. These landscapes warrant urgent attention in light of increasing urbanization and health disparities among indigenous peoples internationally. On the basis of thematic content analysis, three themes were identified from 17 open-ended interviews with American Indian community members. Specifically, respondents viewed the health organization as (a) a vital place to be among other American Indians and connected to Native culture, (b) a place where one feels at home and welcome, and (c) a place in which health services are delivered in an especially intimate and hospitable manner. Significant challenges and tensions were also communicated, in terms of unique intersections of health care and indigeneity. Results are interpreted in terms of urban Indian health organizations as urban-indigenous therapeutic landscapes.

Wendt, D. C., & Gone, J. P. (2012). Urban-indigenous therapeutic landscapes: a case study of an urban American Indian health organization. Health & place, 18(5), 1025–1033. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.06.004

Background: Since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, preliminary evidence suggests that rates of opioid use and overdose in North America have only been exacerbated. During this time, healthcare services providing medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) have faced heightened challenges, rapidly adjusting services in order to continue to provide access to treatment. To better understand the impact of the pandemic on MOUD services in the U.S. and Canada, this scoping review summarizes and synthesizes the existing literature on this topic. Methods: Articles were deemed eligible to be included in this review if they met the following three criteria: focused on MOUD services; situated within the COVID-19 pandemic; and situated within the U.S. or Canada. Results: Common themes among the articles that met inclusion included the impacts of MOUD policy changes; the transition to telehealth; challenges to providing MOUD; innovative changes to services; and recommendations for policy and service changes. Many articles supported MOUD regulatory changes, with some finding these changes had increased access to MOUD for underserved populations. Conclusions: There is currently a pressing need to evaluate the impacts on MOUD services in greater depth, as recent changes could have lasting implications on future MOUD regulatory policies and treatment standards.

Parker, D. G., Zentner, D., Burack, J. A., & Wendt, D. C. (2023). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medications for opioid use disorder services in the U.S. and Canada: A scoping review. Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy, 30(6), 529–542. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687637.2023.2181147

https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/articles/9k41zk991?locale=en

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers around the world have made efforts to assess its impact on youth mental health; however, the breadth of this topic has impeded a clear assessment of pandemic outcomes. This study aimed to address this gap by reviewing changes in youth (age ≤ 25) mental health, psychological wellbeing, substance use, and the use or delivery of relevant services during the pandemic. PubMed and Embase were searched in May 2021 to conduct a rapid review of the literature. The results encompass 156 primary publications and are reported using a narrative synthesis. Studies of mental health (n = 122) and psychological wellbeing (n = 28) generally indicated poor outcomes in many settings. Publications regarding substance use (n = 41) noted overall declines or unchanged patterns. Studies of service delivery (n = 12) indicated a generally positive reception for helplines and telehealth, although some youth experienced difficulties accessing services. The findings indicate negative impacts of the pandemic on youth mental health, with mixed results for substance use. Services must support marginalized youth who lack access to telehealth.

Zolopa, C., Burack, J. A., O'Connor, R. M., Corran, C., Lai, J., Bomfim, E., DeGrace, S., Dumont, J., Larney, S., & Wendt, D. C. (2022). Changes in Youth Mental Health, Psychological Wellbeing, and Substance Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Rapid Review. Adolescent research review, 7(2), 161–177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-022-00185-6

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-022-00185-6

Corace, K., Weinrib, A., Abbott, P., Craig, K., Eaton, E., Fulton, H., McKee, S., McWilliams, L., Mushquash, C., Rush, B., Stewart, S., Taylor, S., Wendt, D. C., & Wilson, K. (2019). Recommendations for addressing the opioid crisis in Canada. Canadian Psychological Association.

https://cpa.ca/docs/File/Task_Forces/OpioidTaskforceReport_June2019.pdf

In spite of increased attention to research-based interventions for substance use disorders (SUDs), a formidable research-practice gap impedes the implementation of evidence-based treatments (EBTs). An underappreciated dimension of this gap is a mismatch in treatment modality: Whereas clinical trial and implementation research has focused primarily on individual therapy, the majority of SUD specialty treatment is in group format, with open-enrolling groups being most common. This study aims to narrow this research-practice gap by exploring clinicians' perspectives on complexities with group therapy facilitation in SUD specialty treatment settings. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 group clinicians from among three outpatient SUD specialty clinics—diverse in their operational structures, treatment philosophies, clientele, and services—located in the same Midwestern U.S. metropolitan area. Interview questions addressed organizational characteristics, services provided, group therapy curricula, and use of EBTs or other structured treatments. Clinicians emphasized the importance of having flexibility in facilitating groups, through built-in group processes and clinicians' own adaptions and accommodations; this flexibility was especially emphasized for the use of EBTs or manualized interventions. Clinicians also had difficulties with group facilitation generally, as evidenced by their reported difficulty in managing complex group dynamics, their limited group therapy experience and training, and their reliance on educational groups. We discuss specific strategies for improved innovation and implementation of EBTs for SUD group therapy.

Wendt, D. C., & Gone, J. P. (2018). Complexities with group therapy facilitation in substance use disorder specialty treatment settings. Journal of substance abuse treatment, 88, 9–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2018.02.002

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5990965/

Minimal research has explored how clinicians address race and ethnicity considerations in the context of group psychotherapy within substance use disorder (SUD) specialty treatment settings. This article is an exploratory qualitative study in an effort to narrow this gap, using data from semi-structured interviews with 13 group clinicians at three outpatient SUD specialty clinics in the United States. Results are drawn from the portion of coded material pertaining to ethnoracial considerations. A predominant theme from the interviews was the importance of individualized care in terms of “meeting clients where they are at.” However, minimal attention appears to have been given to addressing clients’ demographic diversity. Overall, ethnoracial considerations were minimally addressed in groups, with clinicians framing such primarily in terms of “cultural” factors relevant to clinics’ treatment philosophies. Moreover, limited attention was reportedly given to acknowledgment of social inequities faced by ethnoracial minority clients (e.g., racial discrimination), even though a few clinicians reported concern that minority clients were less engaged in treatment. Clinical implications of these findings and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Wendt, D. C., & Gone, J. P. (2018). Group Psychotherapy in Specialty Clinics for Substance Use Disorder Treatment:The Challenge of Ethnoracially Diverse Clients. International journal of group psychotherapy, 68(4), 608–628. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207284.2018.1442225

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6746404/

Substance use disorder (SUD) treatment is typically delivered in group format, but clinical research focuses on individual therapy. This exploratory study narrows this gap through a survey of 566 SUD group clinicians in the United States, concerning most commonly used group practices, attitudes about evidence-based treatments (EBTs), and beliefs about addiction. Clinicians reported high use of open groups, moderately high utilization of EBT practices, and moderate use of questionable practices. Clinicians’ attitudes about EBTs and beliefs about addiction were correlated with the use of certain EBTs and questionable practices. Strategies for implementation of EBTs in group settings are discussed.

Wendt, D. C., & Gone, J. P. (2017). Group Therapy for Substance Use Disorders: A Survey of Clinician Practices. Journal of groups in addiction & recovery, 12(4), 243–259. https://doi.org/10.1080/1556035X.2017.1348280

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6289265/

Objective: This secondary data analysis explored predictors and outcomes of having a 12-step sponsor among individuals receiving treatment for stimulant use disorders, inclusive of four types of 12-step groups (Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, and Crystal Meth Anonymous). Method: For a multisite randomized clinical trial, participants (N =471; 59% women) were recruited among adult patients in 10 U.S. community treatment programs. Participants were randomized into treatment as usual (TAU) or a 12-step facilitation (TSF) intervention: Stimulant Abuser Groups to Engage in 12-Step (STAGE-12). Logistic regression analyses explored the extent to which participants obtained sponsors, including the extent to which treatment condition and other predictors (12-step experiences, expectations, and beliefs) were associated with having a sponsor. The relationship between end-of-treatment sponsorship and follow-up substance use outcomes was also tested. Results: Participants were more likely to have a sponsor at the end of treatment and 3-month follow-up, with the STAGE-12 condition having higher sponsorship rates. Twelve-step meeting attendance and literature reading during the treatment period predicted having a sponsor at the end of treatment. Sponsorship at the end of treatment predicted a higher likelihood of abstinence from stimulant use and having no drug-related problems at follow-up. Conclusions: This study extends previous research on sponsorship, which has mostly focused on alcohol use disorders, by indicating that sponsorship is associated with positive outcomes for those seeking treatment from stimulant use disorders. It also suggests that sponsorship rates can be improved for those seeking treatment from stimulant use disorders through a shortterm TSF intervention.

Wendt, D. C., Hallgren, K. A., Daley, D. C., & Donovan, D. M. (2017). Predictors and Outcomes of Twelve-Step Sponsorship of Stimulant Users: Secondary Analyses of a Multisite Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 78(2), 287–295. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2017.78.287

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5554108/

Evidence-based treatments (EBTs) for substance use disorders (SUDs) often are not utilized in clinical practice or lag years behind in their uptake. One underappreciated dimension of this research-practice gap is a mismatch in treatment modality: Whereas research efforts have focused on individual therapy, the majority of SUD treatment is in group format. In this mixed-methods three-study dissertation, I aim to narrow this gap by exploring how SUD clinicians facilitate group therapy. First, I conducted a national online survey with 566 SUD group therapy clinicians about their most commonly utilized group practices. Survey results confirm that group therapy is the most widely used SUD treatment modality, with especially high prevalence of open groups; clinicians also reported high utilization of EBT components (especially motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy) but with varying use of 35 specific practices and moderate use of questionable/less-effective practices. For the remaining two studies, I conducted qualitative thematic content analyses of semi-structured interviews with 13 clinicians at three outpatient SUD specialty clinics in the Midwestern U.S. The first qualitative analysis, which also included interviews with clinical directors, focused on organizational factors that facilitate and impede EBT implementation. Results indicate considerable challenges for integrating EBTs within each clinic, in terms of complexities with clinics’ provision of group therapy, exclusive use of open groups, use of treatment structures (e.g., group duration and session length) that are not readily compatible with existing EBTs, and use of a suite of treatments rather than standalone interventions; considerable adaptations are thus necessary to utilize existing EBTs. For the second qualitative analysis, I present complexities and barriers for group therapy facilitation, including use of EBTs, among individual clinicians. Results indicate that clinicians emphasized the importance of providing individualized and engaging treatment, necessitating considerable flexibility for group facilitation; however, clinicians also had serious challenges in this regard, due to complex group dynamics and organizational deficits and barriers (limited group therapy experience, limited quality control efforts, the predominance of psychoeducation, and limited attention to clients’ demographic diversity). For each study, I discuss recommended strategies for researchers and clinicians toward improved innovation and implementation of evidence-based practice.

Wendt, D. C. (2015). A mixed-methods exploration of group therapy for substance use disorders: Prospects for evidence-based treatment (Doctoral dissertation). University of Michigan.

https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/113429

Thomas Teo and Dennis Wendt enter a dialogue about psychology’s entanglement with society, culture, and the history of psychology. Their discussion highlights important aspects of Teo’s recent scholarship that aims at defining a critical psychology agenda that works to disrupt the epistemological violence and ‘epistemological grandiosity’ that structures psychological discourse. In his scholarship, Teo also identifies psychology as a “hyperscience,” a discipline that uses strategies to hide the fact that it is not a natural science (Teo, in press). In order to do that, one inflates and complicates one’s methodological activities, conceals the temporality and contextuality of psychological phenomena and incessantly refers to one’s discipline as a science.

Teo, T., & Wendt, D. C. (2022). Subjectivity and the critical imagination in neoliberal capitalism: Conversation with Thomas Teo. In H. Macdonald, S. Carabbio-Thopsey, & D. M. Goodman (Eds.), Neoliberalism, ethics, and the social responsibility of psychology: Dialogues at the edge (pp. 44–83). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003280033-3

This comment responds to Held’s (2020) analyses of Indigenous and critical psychologies, not by providing line-for-line refutations of arguments, but by laying out some of the larger issues in those areas of research and practice. The argument clarifies assumptions and misunderstandings by looking at the relationship between critical and Indigenous psychologies, power and violence, objectivity, and the regulative role of prepositions. It is hoped that a clearer and broader understanding of those psychologies can emerge.

Teo, T., & Wendt, D. C. (2020). Some clarifications on critical and Indigenous psychologies. Theory and Psychology, 30(3), 371–376. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354320920944

The number of psychologists whose work crosses cultural boundaries is increasing. Without a critical awareness of their own cultural grounding, they risk imposing the assumptions, concepts, practices, and values of U.S.-centered psychology on societies where they do not fit, as a brief example from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami shows. Hermeneutic thinkers offer theoretical resources for gaining cultural awareness. Culture, in the hermeneutic view, is the constellation of meanings that constitutes a way of life. Such cultural meanings – especially in the form of folk psychologies and moral visions – inevitably shape every psychology, including U.S. psychology. The insights of hermeneutics, as well as its conceptual resources and research approaches, open the way for psychological knowledge and practice that are more culturally situated.

Christopher, J. C., Wendt, D. C., Marecek, J., & Goodman, D. M. (2014). Critical cultural awareness: contributions to a globalizing psychology. The American psychologist, 69(7), 645–655. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036851

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4557738/

The U.S. has witnessed significant growth among urban AI populations in recent decades, and concerns have been raised that these populations face equal or greater degrees of disadvantage than their reservation counterparts. Surprisingly little urban AI research or community work has been documented in the literature, and even less has been written about the influences of urban settings on community-based work with these populations. Given the deep commitments of community psychology to empowering disadvantaged groups and understanding the impact of contextual factors on the lives of individuals and groups, community psychologists are well suited to fill these gaps in the literature. Toward informing such efforts, this work offers multidisciplinary insights from distinct idiographic accounts of community-based behavioral health research with urban AI populations. Accounts are offered by three researchers and one urban AI community organization staff member, and particular attention is given to issues of community heterogeneity, geography, membership, and collaboration. Each first-person account provides “lessons learned” from the urban context in which the research occurred. Together, these accounts suggest several important areas of consideration in research with urban AIs, some of which also seem relevant to reservation-based work. Finally, the potential role of research as a tool of empowerment for urban AI populations is emphasized, suggesting future research attend to the intersections of identity, sense of community, and empowerment in urban AI populations.

Hartmann, W. E., Wendt, D. C., Saftner, M. A., Marcus, J., & Momper, S. L. (2014). Advancing community-based research with urban American Indian populations: multidisciplinary perspectives. American journal of community psychology, 54(1-2), 72–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-014-9643-5

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4165816/

Operationism is a theoretical and methodological framework that became a major feature of psychological research beginning in the 1930s. Contemporary notions of operationism differ significantly from when it was first conceived, and some have argued that the framework no longer holds currency in psychology except perhaps among radical behaviorists. Others argue, however, that operationism continues to exert a strong influence in psychology, as evident by dominant methodological practices and the epistemological assumptions they imply.

Wendt, D. C. (2014). Operationism. In T. Teo (Ed.), Encyclopedia of critical psychology (pp. 1283–1289). Springer Reference. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5583-7_508

https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/books/rn3017018?locale=en

The complexity and diversity of Native America poses challenges for psychological inquiry that cannot be resolved through the sole use of variable analytic methods. Psychology’s nearly dominant use of these methods is inadequate for understanding, and likely has contributed to, the European American colonization that continues to profoundly affect American Indian communities. Qualitative inquiry may play a crucial role for “decolonizing” psychological inquiry in American Indian communities. After briefly summarizing the qualitative research literature on American Indians, we introduce the importance of decolonization. We describe four specific contributions of qualitative inquiry as a decolonizing methodology: (a) framing a context of colonization, (b) focusing on local cultural meanings, (c) providing “thick description” of cultural processes and practices, and (d) reporting results using participants’ own words. We then offer four brief recommendations for the next generation of researchers who will use qualitative methods in "Indian country": recommendation 1: provide clarity about adopted approaches; recommendation 2: report adequate methodological detail; recommendation 3: select the appropriate journal and negotiate print space; and recommendation 4: forge community partnerships.

Wendt, D. C., & Gone, J. P. (2012). Decolonizing psychological inquiry in American Indian communities: The promise of qualitative methods. In D. K. Nagata, L. Kohn-Wood, & L. Suzuki (Eds.), Qualitative strategies for ethnocultural research (pp. 161-178). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13742-009

At its heart, conservation psychology is concerned with relationships—those between humans and the natural world. However, the assumptions that psychologists make about relationships can have profound implications for the way we theorize about, empirically investigate, and intervene in relationships between humans and the natural world. To demonstrate these implications, we describe two basic ways to understand relationships, individualistic relationality and strong relationality, and their respective implications for conservation psychology. For individualistic relationality, relationships consist of fundamentally individual self-contained parts that merely interact with one another, whereas for strong relationality, relationships are at the ontological foundation of identity and existence. To more fully explicate strong relationality, we draw upon the writings of farmer, writer, and conservationist Wendell Berry. We argue that strong relationality, though it is less familiar and often overlooked in psychology, provides a framework for conservation psychology that uniquely fits many of the goals of conservation psychology (e.g., caring and harmonious relationships with nature). Likewise, we contend that strong relationality approaches research and intervention with particular sensitivity to the subject matter of conservation psychology, and we offer several illustrative examples. Finally, we suggest that qualitative methods, especially indigenous methodologies, are particularly important for advancing a strongly relational conservation psychology.

Wiggins, B. J., Ostenson, J. A., & Wendt, D. C. (2012). The relational foundations of conservation psychology. Ecopsychology, 4(3), 209–215. https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2012.0028

William James's A Pluralistic Universe (1909/1987) was not very influential in his day; 100 years later, however, calls for a Jamesian-style pluralism are increasingly common in the natural and social sciences. We first summarize James's critique of monism and his defense of pluralism. Next, we discuss similar critiques of monism and calls for "strong" pluralism across the natural and social sciences, even in traditional bastions of monism like physics, biology, and economics. We then argue that psychology is also in need of this pluralism, but the discipline is mired in uncritical, monistic assumptions, most notably operationism. We describe the problems this particular assumption presents, and also suggest some solutions we believe James would proffer, in the context of this monistic requirement.

Wendt, D. C., & Slife, B. D. (2009). Recent calls for Jamesian pluralism in the natural and social sciences: Will psychology heed the call? Journal of Mind and Behavior, 30(3), 185–204. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43854248