Blending Native American spirituality with individual psychology in work with children

The Native American tradition of the harmonious balance of rriind, body, and spirit with the natural environment can be blended with pet therapy, nature therapy, and group counseling techniques to assist children to heal the disconnectedness that they feel and act out. This interrelatedness can assist children to reconnect to society and to themselves. The authors provide numerous examples of how to use practices from Native American traditions to facilitate counseling with children. Experiencing harmony through group work can facilitate a healing for those who experience a sense of disconnectedness and lack of social inter-est. Brendtro, Brokenleg, and Van Bockern (2002) suggested that the unmet needs of belonging can be corrected through the development of trusting, intimate relationships. Research on culturally diverse group work empha-sizes the blending of content, process skills, and exercises to promote trust, cohesiveness, and in-depth feedback as well as individual work toward self-assigned goals (Brinson & Lee, 1997; Furr, 2000; Gladding, 1999; Haley-Banez & Waiden, 1999). In this article we draw from the philosophy and activities of the Native American tradition and expand Garrett and Grutchfield's (1997) unity model to blend group counseling, pet therapy, and nature therapy as psychoeducational group techniques to address the needs of students who are suffering from a sense of disconnection from their fami-lies, schools, peers, and selves