Dr. Patricia Vickers researched the transformative aspects of ancestral law for her interdisciplinary doctorate degree. The primary sources included fluent speakers of the smalgyax language from her home village of Gitxaala on the northwest coast of British Columbia. She also analyzed the adaawx (sacred stories) of Txamsem who was half supernatural raven, half human. Her dissertation review followed cultural protocol in being affirmed both by a round table of fluent speakers from Gitxaala, as well as the doctorate committee from the University of Victoria.
Dr. Vickers is currently Mental Health & Wellness Director of Clinical Services for First Nations Health Authority in Vancouver, British Columbia. She developed Healing Complex Trauma 1, a three-week intensive training program for mental health practitioners and Brief Trauma Training, a three-day training that provides an overview of C-PTSD in First Nations families and communities. The trainings are designed for health practitioners who service First Nations communities in both urban and rural territories.