Training clinical psychologists in Indigenous mental health and wellbeing

A male student with dark hair and glasses standing beside a female student with long blond hair outside in front of a building surrounded by trees.. — Grad students Alix Printup and Jayden Bousfield.

The donor-funded Chief Mungo Martin Chair draws graduate students from afar to UVic for learning and mentorship, expanding research in Indigenous mental health and ultimately reducing health disparities for Indigenous communities.

When Alix Printup started researching potential grad schools to attend, the University of Victoria wasn’t initially on his radar. He had never been to the West Coast before, let alone Victoria, BC. Then he heard of the unique work UVic is doing to develop mental-wellness research informed by engagement with Indigenous partners and communities, and suddenly UVic was the only place he could imagine himself.

Alix is a member of the Seneca Nation who grew up on the Allegany Indian Reservation near Buffalo, New York. He completed his undergraduate degree in psychology and philosophy at the College of Wooster in northeastern Ohio, where he was one of the only Indigenous students on campus. His thesis focused on the historical trauma of Indigenous people and decolonial psychology.

“My thesis was trying to separate [PTSD and historical trauma] on a fundamental level by not only defining what is PTSD and historical trauma, but also why people are confusing them as the same thing… When you're talking about historical trauma, you're talking about trauma, intergenerational transmission of trauma, and trauma on the entire community level as well.”

A male student with dark hair and glasses standing on a tree covered university campus.

When he graduated, Alix found that the path to grad school was an ever narrowing one, particularly in the wake of the US administration’s ongoing cuts targeting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, federal research programs and Indigenous education funding.

Alix’s college advisor suggested UVic as a possible next step. They had gone to grad school with Emily Haigh, who took up the position of Chief Mungo Martin Research Chair in Indigenous Mental Health at UVic in 2022.

Alix was convinced it was the right move for him after an interview with Emily. “I thought, ‘OK, I have to come here. There’s no other way. There’s no other place I belong.’”

Psychology through an Indigenous lens

Six people standing shoulder to shoulder smiling in front of a colourful backdrop. — Left to right: Dean of the Faculty of Health Dr. Tammy Hopper; Bruce McKean; Dr. Lorna Wanosts’a7 Williams, Professor Emerita of Indigenous Education, Curriculum and Instruction; Qwul’sih’yah’maht, Robina Thomas, UVic’s Acting President and Vice-Chancellor; associate professor and Chief Mungo Martin Research Chair in Indigenous Mental Health Emily Haigh; and Alix Printup.

The Chief Mungo Martin Research Chair position was established through a $1.5-million gift from UVic alumnus and ɬíɬəl ʔa kʷs ƛ̓kʷəxnəq Skʷukʷəlstəŋəƛ̓ | SIÁMĆEȽ | 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Bruce McKean. That gift was driven by Bruce’s recognition of the historical and continuing impacts of colonialism on Indigenous Peoples.

Emily, who is the daughter of an English father and Anishinaabe mother from the Thessalon First Nation and surrounding Sault Ste. Marie Métis community, teaches her students the mainstream psychology curriculum while simultaneously encouraging them to take a critical look at that curriculum through the lens of Indigenous perspectives.

“It's about advocating for alternative perspectives in psychology, not only just for Indigenous people, but for everyone. Because I think that is the most efficacious way to deliver psychology.”

—Alix Printup

Last year, Alix was one of only six students accepted into the clinical psychology training program from a pool of more than 350 applicants. He’s completed the first year of a seven-year PhD in clinical psychology.

“[As a psychology undergrad] I was scared to do Indigenous work,” Alix says. “I thought I'd be looked down upon, like ‘Oh, it's an Indigenous kid doing Indigenous work… he’s not that serious.’ But it’s a growing field.”

Alix says the downstream effects of having scholars like Emily Haigh at UVic is huge. He and his fellow students are committed to the work and creating a strong base of research.

Everyone at the table

One of those students is Jayden Bousfield, who grew up in Dunnville, Ontario on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe and Neutral (Attawandaron/Chonnonton) peoples. She completed her psychology undergrad at the University of Waterloo where she was a varsity athlete on the women’s rugby team.

As a non-Indigenous person, she says Truth and Reconciliation is the responsibility of everyone. Coming to UVic to pursue her degree under Emily’s supervision is part of her commitment to reconciliation within clinical psychology.

A female student with long blond hair standing on campus surrounded by trees.

“There's a shift in psychology happening right now towards having a more integrated perspective, paying attention to sociocultural factors, looking beyond just Western frameworks,” says Jayden, who was recently awarded a Canadian Graduate School Master’s Scholarship to promote culturally safe, anti-racist and respectful mental health services for Indigenous People in Canada. “That shift can't happen without research at the foundation, and Emily's one scholar who's pouring that foundation in a really meaningful way here.”

“In doing research that is focused on Indigenous mental health and wellbeing, Emily is unique in her philosophy that more is more, and this work needs everyone at the table, and that's why I'm here. She was very intentional in taking Alix and me at the same time and having one Indigenous student, one non-Indigenous student to do this work… Truth and Reconciliation does require everybody. Everybody needs to be contributing.”

—Jayden Bousfield