Beyond Wearing Orange: 6 Ways Therapists Can Support Reconciliation

Every September 30, we mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day to honour residential school survivors, their families, and the children who never returned home.

Wearing orange today is an act of remembrance. For therapists, it’s also a reminder that we have a responsibility to examine how we work and the impact we have.

But what changes in our therapy practice after we take off the orange shirt?

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was established in response to Call to Action 80 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This called for a federal statutory holiday recognizing Survivors, their families, and communities, while ensuring that the history and legacy of residential schools are publicly remembered (Canadian Heritage, 2026).

Orange Shirt Day is a powerful reminder of the lasting impacts of the residential school system. The orange shirt symbolizes the loss of culture, freedom, and self-esteem that many Indigenous children experienced (Canadian Heritage, 2026).

The orange shirt is inspired by Phyllis Webstad’s story. In 1973, at only 6 years old, Phyllis arrived at residential school wearing a new orange shirt that her grandmother had bought her. The shirt was taken away and never returned (Orange Shirt Society, n.d.). In sharing her experience, Phyllis described the lasting feeling that she didn’t matter. (read Phyllis Webstad’s story here).

Wearing orange is a way to honour the past, to commit to learning the truth about Canada’s history, and a commitment to a better future for all children, grounded in the enduring truth that Every Child Matters.

What does reconciliation have to do with therapy?

As therapists, we should care about helping people feel heard, respected, and supported. Doing that well means paying attention to the world outside the therapy room.

Regrettably, helping professions have historically caused harm in Indigenous communities in Canada. There has been a lack of respect for Indigenous social structures and their knowledge. For example, the Canadian Association of Social Workers has acknowledged its role in supporting residential schools and discriminatory child welfare policies (Canadian Association of Social Workers, n.d.).

Today, our work may continue to harm indigenous communities because it involves assumptions about what’s considered “normal,” and our assessment tools don’t always draw from Indigenous knowledge. Certain practices within helping professions have been used to support discriminatory policies and pathologize Indigenous peoples, treating their experiences as individual problems while overlooking the conditions surrounding them (Canadian Psychological Association & Psychology Foundation of Canada, 2018).

We need to keep examining our assumptions and practices so we don’t contribute to colonial violence and racism.

How can therapists support reconciliation?

I’ve shared six meaningful actions therapists can take to support reconciliation. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it offers a place to start.

1. Learn the history of the land and people where you practice

Study local colonial history. Learn about the Nations, treaties, residential schools, child welfare systems, and ongoing systemic injustices connected to the land where you practice. Seek out Indigenous-led education and make the time for it.

Engage in critical self-reflection, too. As therapists, we should be continually examining and challenging our own biases, privileges, and assumptions. Our clients should not feel responsible for educating us on colonial history in order to defend their experiences of racism before receiving thoughtful care.

I’ve incorporated the concept of Two-Eyed Seeing (Etuaptmumk) into my practice. There’s room for both the strengths of Western and Indigenous ways of knowing. We can draw on both responsibly to support our clients’ healing journeys (Bartlett et al., 2012).

Start here: Choose one Indigenous-led learning resource and bring your reflections into clinical supervision.

2. Shift from pathology to context

When we focus only on symptoms, we miss the conditions surrounding someone’s distress.

Ask how racism, intergenerational trauma, housing insecurity, displacement, family separation, or experiences with institutions may be affecting the person in front of you. Stay curious about their particular experience, including their strengths, relationships, and sources of meaning.

Critically examine the theories you’ve been trained in. Consider what Western ideas are prioritized (e.g., individualism) and reflect on how you can adapt your approach to respect diverse worldviews.

In trauma work, explore concepts such as the “soul wound,” discussed by Dr. Eduardo Duran in Healing the Soul Wound. His work invites us to look beyond an individual diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and consider the collective experience of historical and intergenerational trauma (Duran, 2019).

Start here: Ask yourself, “What might my understanding of this person be leaving out?”

3. Share decisions and examine power

Therapists hold power through our language, assessments, policies, and professional roles. We need to notice how that power shapes the therapeutic relationship.

I address the power dynamic directly with new clients and work with them to flatten the perceived power imbalances. Invite clients to tell you what would help them feel safer with you. Welcome clients to challenge you. It is our responsibility as therapists to minimize power imbalances and create safety for our clients.

Good intentions alone don’t tell us how someone experiences our care. The client is the expert on their own experience (First Nations Health Authority, n.d.). Cultural humility involves ongoing reflection of our assumptions and a willingness to learn.

Start here: Ask clients what respectful support looks like to them, and make room for their answers to change your approach.

4. Respect Indigenous-led healing

The First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework places culture at the foundation of wellness, recognizing the importance of language, family, Elders, community, and connection to land (Health Canada & Assembly of First Nations, 2014).

When a client wants cultural or traditional support, our role is to support them in accessing it. Follow community protocols, respect cultural practitioners’ expertise, and certainly don’t assume that every Indigenous client wants the same approach.

Start here: Learn about appropriate referral pathways and how to collaborate with Elders and Knowledge Keepers, when invited, to support access to traditional healing, storytelling, and connection to land when the client wants this.

5. Reduce barriers to care

Access is shaped by practical details: fees, forms, appointment times, technology, and service policies.

Review these details with curiosity. Where might someone struggle to access your services? What flexibility can you offer consistently? Consider changes that are sustainable and responsive to what people actually need.

You can advocate for policy reform too! Use your professional platform to support systemic changes, such as increased funding for Indigenous-led mental health initiatives and access to traditional healers within broader healthcare systems.

Start here: Identify one barrier in your practice and one realistic step toward reducing it.

6. Support community priorities throughout the year

Relationships take time, reciprocity, and follow-through.

Support Indigenous-led organizations and the priorities they identify. This might involve donations, advocacy, paid learning, or collaboration when invited. Respect that community members and organizations may have limited capacity and their own plans.

Start here: Make one specific commitment and follow through.

What will you carry forward after September 30?

We don’t need to pretend we have this figured out. We just need to be willing to learn, hear difficult feedback, and adapt.

It is ok to start small. Pick one action from the list above and set up parameters to ensure you follow through (e.g., sufficient time and resources, an accountability buddy, etc.). Perhaps you bring it into supervision or your next team meeting.

Wearing orange makes remembrance visible. What we do throughout the year gives that commitment substance.

References

Bartlett, C., Marshall, M., & Marshall, A. (2012). Two-Eyed Seeing and other lessons learned within a co-learning journey of bringing together indigenous and mainstream knowledges and ways of knowing. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 2(4), 331–340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-012-0086-8

Canadian Association of Social Workers. (n.d.). Statement of apology and commitment to reconciliation. https://www.casw-acts.ca/en/statement-apology-and-commitment-reconciliation

Canadian Heritage. (2026, September 15). National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation.html

Canadian Psychological Association, & Psychology Foundation of Canada. (2018). Psychology’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s report. https://cpa.ca/docs/File/Task_Forces/TRC%20Task%20Force%20Report_FINAL.pdf

Duran, E. (2019). Healing the soul wound: Trauma-informed counseling for Indigenous communities (2nd ed.). Teachers College Press.

First Nations Health Authority. (n.d.). Cultural safety and humility. https://fnha.ca/services-and-support/culturally-grounded-care/cultural-safety-and-humility/

Health Canada, & Assembly of First Nations. (2014, December). First Nations mental wellness continuum framework: Summary report. https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1576093687903/1576093725971

Orange Shirt Society. (n.d.-a). Orange Shirt Day. https://orangeshirtday.org/about/orange-shirt-day/

Orange Shirt Society. (n.d.-b). Phyllis Webstad’s story. https://orangeshirtday.org/about/phyllis-story/