National Congress of American Indians Chooses U of A Graduate Student for Fellowship

Photo by Stephen Ironside

Teresia Paul

University of Arkansas student Teresia M. Paul has been named a recipient of a Native Graduate Health Fellowship from the National Congress of American Indians. Paul is pursuing a doctorate in rehabilitation education and research, specializing in behavioral addictions.

The fellowship program is intended to address the stark disparities in native people's health by building a pipeline of native health professionals who are prepared to lead in formulating and promoting health policies and practices that address the unique needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives. By supporting graduate students in various health-related fields, the National Congress of American Indians seeks to increase the number of native health leaders and equip them with the tools necessary to achieve its vision of strong, healthy native communities.

Paul, who is form Greensboro, North Carolina, worked for five years as a mental health therapist at an Indian Health Service treatment facility for Native American youth in Cherokee, North Carolina. Her experience was that, even when youth successfully completed treatment for alcohol and drug abuse and committed to a recovery lifestyle, many relapsed within a few months. She believes an inability to affect and change the adolescent's home environment was a major factor.

Her research and clinical focus evolved from that experience, and she hopes to incorporate family therapy into treatment programs for native youth. Paul, who is of both Nigerian and Native American heritage, said her background has fueled the zeal she has for understanding and learning about cultures.

"As a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe, which resides on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (in South Dakota), I have had the opportunity to observe firsthand the dire need for mental health reform and culturally relevant evidence-based practices for native communities," Paul said. "I have chosen to focus on Native American adolescents and substance abuse disorders for my dissertation."

Her dissertation will explore the use of multicultural ecological maps as a method to conceptualize an adolescent's case to assist clinicians and family members gain a better understanding of the adolescent's background, family structure and significant relationships. Paul will help adolescents create the maps by taking information from open-ended questions the youth answers to illustrate interrelationships and determine areas of strength or extreme conflict. Paul will also ask the adolescent's therapist and primary caregiver to complete maps from the adolescent's point of view. She aims to identify themes, areas of strength and conflict, and, ultimately, give the adolescent a stronger voice in the treatment process.

"It is my hope that a new intervention for breaking the cycle of addiction will be developed from this research," she said.

The fellowship provides funding and professional development on tribal health policy. Paul will attend a workshop on tribal sovereignty and tribal public policy with a particular emphasis on native health policy and recent innovations in native health. The workshop will take place in July at the Embassy of Tribal Nations in Washington.