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Community healing and training |  |
Recovery Facility Training |
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Suicide AIP Training | |
Youth-worker Seminars |
The main focus of this program is healing the underlying issues that have been so instrumental in creating substance misuse and the resultant addictions and other self destructive and self defeating behaviors we see in so many of our communities where the lives of people are impacted by unresolved traumas and a wide variety of additional unresolved issues. Many of the people I speak with while I am in communities across Western Canada express a real desire to stop drinking and doing drugs, I believe the best approach to helping people escape their addictions and experience long term recovery is with the healing and empowerment processes that take place in this particular program, I say this because I have personally witnessed the positive and lasting changes this program has made in peoples lives and the positive impact it has had upon communities.
There is a great need to properly address the deeply rooted traumas that Colonization, the impact of Western ideologies and the multi generational impact residential schools have inflicted upon First Nation’s people throughout North America. Healing these core issues is the only responsible approach to helping people escape their addictions, this can be accomplished through supportive counseling in both individual and group settings with a strong emphasis on leading participants toward accepting it is in their best interests to attending healing and empowerment sessions. I use a four-stage process to help the community realize long-term wellness. There are numerous situations that have happened in Native communities that have created deep psychological pain in their people, unresolved losses due to accidental deaths, natural deaths, suicides and unresolved abuses people have experienced including sexual, emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual abuses. Many people have not had a real opportunity to grieve their losses or heal from their abuses in a healthy manner, this has created a sense of ongoing sadness in their lives and in most cases a sense of deep shame, many believe they have no other way to cover up this sadness and sense of shame other than by turning to alcohol and drugs for comfort. There are also those who have gone through many additional forms of abuse in their life as a result of their Residential School experiences, this abuse and neglect has created a deeply rooted sense of anger and resentment and shame, these have played and continue to play a significant and often very destructive role in their personal relationships, their family relationships and their interpersonal relationships with their extended families and the other members of their community. It is widely understood that the unresolved issues people carry and the underlying factors those issues have created are the root of almost all forms of addictions. It is also widely understood that until these issues are properly treated the people experiencing addictions and addictions related problems in their lives will unfortunately remain trapped in a downward spiral of self defeating and self destructive behavior patterns and will experience ongoing difficulties trying to successfully escape their addictions.
It bothers me greatly that so many Native people have gone through so many outside treatment facilities only to return home and begin their addictions all over again. The challenge many outside treatment programs face is the fact they do not have the time or resources to get to the core issues that were instrumental in the a persons addiction in the first place, there are also many treatment programs that use the shame based approach, this simply does not work with people that are already impacted by shame based addictions. Native people need supportive healing and recovery programs that can take place within their own communities.
The best way to help the people of a community attain ongoing sobriety and ultimately provide the community itself with an opportunity to witness significant progress in healing addictions among their people and their addictions related issues, is to provide your community members with a combination healing and training and empowerment program. It is important to have as many community members as possible involved in the healing components. What we recommend is a format that includes educational sessions combined with supportive counseling to encourage individuals to take part in the healing and empowerment program. Many people are reluctant to go to counseling services within a community setting because they have a fear of what other people may think of them, there is unfortunately a stigma about counseling in the minds of some people, some of it is also related to lack of belief that their confidentiality is being respected. Lee Mason facilitates this program and he develops a respectful and understanding relationship with the community members and invites them to attend evening talking circles and he also provides individuals with an opportunity to complete a personal needs and issues assessment to help them clearly understand how their past issues may still be impacting their lives today. Lee also helps them understand that healing their past issues will give them a true freedom from addictions and a true freedom from becoming further enmeshed in a cycle of self destructive and self defeating behavior patterns. This program will contribute greatly to the community itself seeing a more positive attitude in its members and the overall health and wellness of the community will be reflected in the healthier lifestyles of the community members. Providing on site support staff training combined with community healing will further enhance the ongoing wellness momentum in the community.
Call or email us for complete details and how to bring this program to your community.