Billie Jo Kipp: Indian Country needs Native psychologists

The overwhelming need for Native psychologists
in Indian country is well documented. The last
documented statistic on Native psychologists was
approximately 1 for every 100,000 Native patients. As
a Native psychologist, this statistic is one of the many
reasons for pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, but
not the foremost.
As a Blackfeet woman, I had lived most of my adult
life on the Blackfeet Reservation. I had raised 5 children
and suffered the social and mental ills of substance
abuse, depression and other health-related difficulties
associated with living in an impoverished community.
With my recovery came awareness and guidance,
in the direction of pursuing a chemical dependency
degree, which became my life’s goal. I left the reservation
and pursued a bachelor’s degree in counseling psychology,
with an associate’s in chemical dependency.
Through this experience, I had the opportunity to work
for a semester on my own reservation. It was then that
I realized the mental health needs of the reservation
demanded more education and skills than I had with my
chemical dependency degree. To address the collective
and individual trauma, it was required that I gain more
education, knowledge and clinical practice to be effective.
It was this that provided me with the direction and
energy to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.
Education has been a gift, but it has also come with
setbacks and challenges. When Natives pursue a Ph.D.,
they are often challenged to think differently and change
is inevitable, but not always cultural. The Ph.D. program
demanded that I integrate theories and dogmas that conflicted
with being Blackfeet; however, I had to remember
that I had to learn these concepts knowing my ultimate
goal was to obtain my Ph.D. Once I obtained my doctoral
degree, I began to challenge, adapt and change
these teachings to include a Native American perspective,
with the credentials that academia recognizes. This
has been one of the greatest challenges of my work; to
be a Native scholar and research, teach and write from
a Native perspective. The balance between being Native
and gaining the acknowledgement of the academic community
as a valid professor continues to be challenging.
My greatest satisfaction continues to be my clinical
work with tribes. It is through my work as a psychologist
in Indian country that I realize it was all worth it. To
help Native people understand and accept who they are,
despite their social and mental difficulties, is something
that reminds me that my degree is useful and appreciated.
I have been fortunate in my career. I maintain a parttime
research faculty appointment and provide clinical
services to the New Mexico pueblos. This affords me the
academic challenge and the ability to provide to tribes
what is most useful to them. Education has been a difficult
path but, with my degree, I have received many
rewards and have been able to benefit tribes with 15 years
of clinical experience. For those who follow me — keep
focused, stay when challenges are overwhelming, stay connected
to your people and know that, in the end, your
degree not only belongs to you — it moves a nation. ✦
(Billie Jo Kipp conducts research in Mental Health at UNM
CNAH and in Diabetes Management with Project ECHO
at UNM.)
Clinical Psychology
by Billie Jo Kipp, Ph.D.
Billie Jo Kipp
Education has been a gift, but
it has also come with setbacks
and challenges.