Dr. Brenda Restoule, Ph.D., C.Psych
Dr. Brenda M Restoule (Waub Zhe Kwens), is from Dokis First Nation (Ojibwa) and from the Eagle Clan. She is a registered clinical psychologist. Dr. Restoule is the Chief Executive Officer of the First Peoples Wellness Circle, which is an Indigenous-led national organization dedicated to raising the profile of Indigenous mental wellness using Indigenous knowledge and evidence. The primary work of FPWC is the implementation of the First Nation Mental Wellness Continuum Framework, to which she is a co-chair of the Implementation Team and developing a network of supports for Mental Wellness Teams across the country. Her work spans from providing clinical and consulting services to First Nations communities in Anishinabek territory to consultation with provincial and federal governments on Indigenous mental wellness to an invited trainer and speaker to authoring book chapters and training manuals. Some of Dr. Restoule’s past work experience includes the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and working with federally incarcerated Indigenous women, children’s mental health and urban and First Nation mental wellness programs. She is particularly interested in cultural safety, First Nation community development and capacity building, and reducing suicide rates in First Nation communities using First Nation knowledge and practices.