Our Cultural Specialists support clients in healing from alcohol, substance abuse, co-occurring disorders, and intergenerational trauma while using teachings and modules from multiple resources around American Indian trainings, history, and research. 

Clinical Cultural Specialists

Michael Joseph - sləxlaxt waý x̌ast sx̌əl x̌ʕalt (“My friends, hello, good day.”) My name is Mike Joseph and I am a Clinical Cultural Specialist for the Colville Confederated Tribes Behavioral Health and our new treatment center up on the Sanpoil. Before this I worked for 5 years as a Career Counselor in the Tribe’s Higher Education Program. I began this substance abuse counseling work while attending Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. I started off as a Detox Counselor in Durango for Southwest Colorado Mental Health Center I eventually worked my way up to Certified Addiction Counselor III. Then I got a job with the Southern Ute Community Action Program at the Peaceful Spirit Residential and Outpatient Treatment Center on the Southern Ute Reservation in Ignacio, CO (about 27 miles from Durango). There I did DUI Counseling for Native and non-Native clients and across the street, at the Southern Ute Detention Center, I counseled Natives from all over the Southwest! I graduated from Fort Lewis College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Indian Studies, a self-constructed major, with my new title being Cultural Facilitator. I moved back here to Washington in the spring of 2009 and took the NAADAC exam in Spokane Valley, which I passed to become a nationally certified counselor. On my road of life I had to experience many hardships and many travels, all of it to bring me back to our captik̓ʷl (Creation Stories) and our sqilxlcawt (Indigenous Lifeway).  lim̓lm̓t slax̌t (Thank you).

Amanda Palmer - sləxlaxt waý x̌ast sx̌əl x̌ʕalt (Hello friends, good day.) My name is Amanda and I am an enrolled member of the Colville Confederated Tribes affiliated with the bands Entiat, Moses-Columbia, Palus, San Poil and Wenatchi. I was born in Omak and raised in Nespelem, where I will be raising my two sons. I am proudly one of the Clinical Cultural Specialists that work under Behavioral Health and get the privilege of also working with clients of the newly San Poil Treatment Center. I have almost earned my bachelor's degree in American Indian Studies with a minor in Anthropology from the University of Washington. We are collaborating diligently to eliminate barriers to care and develop strategies that blend traditional native teachings with evidence based practices and cognitive behavioral therapy. I believe in holistic approaches and have a knack for scientifically evidence-based practices; I cannot wait to help people in all walks of life obtain a sense of belonging and understanding. I have spent the last 7 years living an alcohol-free sober lifestyle which propels me to encourage my elders, my peers and the youth to do the same. It takes work, not just to say no, but to address the problems that come along with any type of dependency issue that have solely affected American Indian communities since the white men began to try and steal away our existence. I believe that we are derived from some of the strongest nations and aim to restore spirituality while revitalizing efforts that can help people who need it.