Mental Health Interventions That Address Historical Trauma among Indigenous Peoples: A Systematic Review

Indigenous Peoples (IP) face significant health disparities that stem from historical trauma (HT). This is the first systematic review to investigate mental health interventions that address HT in addition to treating mental health disorders among IP in the United States. The data search included seven databases for published studies, consultations with experts, hand searching journals, and reference list checking. Five studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. In total, 608 clients were examined. Findings suggested that treatments that addressed HT had a marginally beneficial effect on psychological and HT symptom outcomes. However, one study found that the intervention was not successful at maintaining these gains. Due to the limited number of studies, and the heterogeneity of research findings and the methodological limitations suffered by included studies, no definite conclusions about mental health interventions that address HT can be drawn. Recommendations for practice, such as using traditional healing practices for IP in mental health interventions, and recommendations for future research are provided.