As an Indigenous Mental Health Therapist in Alberta, I am unable to bill to NIHB for Indigenous people in Alberta, due to regulatory practices in place by the Federal Government and Alberta College of Social Workers. I have to be a Registered Clinical Social Worker.
It is known that in other provinces such as Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador; a registered social worker can bill their clients that are First Nations & Inuit to NIHB.
This is not fair amongst the provinces and creating barriers for Indigenous people to access their own healing with Indigenous Social Workers. I have personally turned away over 300 since I opened my counselling company in 2021. This is not ok, I am sure it takes every ounce of personal strength to reach out and ask for help and to be rejected by your own Indigenous healer because the inablility to bill to NIHB.
I am doing this petition to gather support for all the Indigenous counsellors facing a similar barrier in building their Mental Health Practice and trying to help our Indigenous people in a good way.
Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action No. 21 We call upon the federal government to provide sustainable funding for existing and new Aboriginal healing centres to address the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual harms caused by residential schools, and to ensure that the funding of healing centres in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories is a priority.
Many thanks for your time, Amanda Balsillie, MSW, RSW
