Anna (Alawa) is a 75-year-old Native American woman who comes to you with a diagnosis of depression. She relates that she has lived off of the federal reservation on which she was born and raised for...

Anna (Alawa) is a 75-year-old Native American woman who comes to you with a diagnosis of depression. She relates that she has lived off of the federal reservation on which she was born and raised for 30 years, leaving her home there to find work. She has worked on and off as a maid in hotels and motels. Although she does not live on the reservation, she says she has never felt comfortable in the “White people’s world.” She currently lives alone in an efficiency apartment. Due to an administrative error, her Social Security benefits have been cut off and she is about to be evicted from her apartment. Anna talks wistfully about missing her children and grandchildren who live on the reservation, which is 100 miles away. She says she feels abandoned by her family.

1. If you were Anna’s counselor, how would you address her issues in a manner that reflected an understanding of her culture as well as the concept of social justice?

2. What would you consider doing at a systemic level that could benefit her?