A Decolonizing Practice: Integrating Dinè Mindfulness in School Psychology Service Delivery

Elvina Charley, Ed.S. is Diné (Navajo) school psychologist practitioner and integrates mindfulness as a part of serving children and youth. She has served as the NASP Indigenous American Subcommittee Co-Chair of Multicultural Affairs Committee for over ten years. Charley has been practicing mindfulness since 2013, as a way to heal from historical trauma. She found parallels between her Diné philosophy of life – Sa’ah naaghái bik’eh hózhóón and mindfulness. Charley received two-year training program through MindfulSchools.org, attends week long people of color retreats, and serves as an assistant to her mentor, Indigenous scholar, and mindfulness practitioner, Bonnie Duran, Ph.D. Charley will share her personal healing journey and how mindfulness is helping her work through intergenerational trauma to positively impact the youth and community she serves. She will explain how the NASP Indigenous Conceptual Framework: Guiding School Psychology Practice With Indigenous Children, Youth, Families, and Communities compliments her work in decolonizing school psychology practice. Charley will illustrate how mindfulness is integrated in her practice as she works with youth in individual and group counseling, classroom intervention, and self-care for ESS staff. Objectives: - Identify the impacts of historical and intergenerational trauma in Dinè community and schools. - Identify the components of Decolonizing Practice in School Psychology. - Learn how to use the NASP Indigenous Conceptual Framework to guide effective practice. - Learn about Dinè culturally relevant mindfulness and how it’s implemented in service delivery for youth and staff.