Abstract

The following research examines how non-Indigenous art therapy practitioners might ethically and effectively support Canadian Indigenous children who have experienced domestic violence
by integrating response-based practice into an art therapy intervention framework. While this study is grounded in the Canadian context, with appropriate cultural and contextual adaptation its findings may be relevant to art therapy practitioners in other settler-colonial nations working with Indigenous populations. Through a scoping review of relevant literature, this research identifies theoretical and practical alignments between response-based practice and various art therapy modalities, including client-centered, strengths-based, and trauma-informed approaches. Findings indicate that these approaches are compatible in their consideration of contextual factors, decentralization of pathology, promotion of client agency, and ethical mandate to pursue therapeutic work from an anti-oppressive stance, making their integration a promising direction for therapeutic work with this population. Tools like the Medicine Wheel of Resistance, and theoretical approaches such as the Expressive Therapies Continuum offer complementary methods for assessment and structuring therapeutic interventions, supporting both verbal and non-verbal forms of expression. However, the integration of these methods is underdeveloped in current literature and epistemological tensions present challenges. Additionally, the absence of direct consultation with Indigenous communities and children limits this research's applicability. Future studies should pursue collaborative, community-based research with Indigenous nations and communities to further develop and evaluate the effectiveness of integrative therapeutic models.