Introduction
This program is designed to address the special needs of people who have suffered, or who are experiencing trauma in their lives, including emotional, mental, physical and spiritual health issues that stem from:
- the effects of the residential school experience,
- past substance abuse,
- violence – domestic or physical,
- unresolved grief, and
- issues that are often passed from generation to generation unless the cycle is broken.
Admissions and Assessment
Potential participants are Aboriginal adults (19 years+) who are experiencing the traumatic effects of:
- residential schools,
- substance abuse history (must have six months clean time),
- physical, sexual or emotional abuse,
- family violence or abandonment,
- violent death or suicide of a loved one,
- cultural oppression,
- generational trauma and spiritual wounding, or other traumas.
Referrals to the program may come from:
- substance abuse treatment counsellors,
- psychologists and therapists.
Participants are carefully screened to ensure they are ready to benefit from trauma treatment and have no other behaviours or problems that need to be addressed first. They must also have six months of sobriety and make a written commitment to complete the program.
Length of Program
“Moving Beyond the Traumas of Our Past” is a five-week residential program. All participants begin at the same time.
The program is a multi-phase healing initiative that provides:
- community outreach,
- in-patient services, and
- evaluation.
In the first phase of the program, participants learn about:
- trust building and safety of the individual,
- physical, emotional and sexual abuse,
- effects of unresolved trauma and cultural oppression, and
- consequences of shame.
During the healing process phase, intensive psychotherapy sessions may be used, in addition to the techniques mentioned above.
The last phase prepares the individual for re-entry to his/her community. Sessions include:
- healthy grief work,
- understanding and honouring defences and boundaries,
- role-playing,
- empowerment and resilience, and
- community resource information session
Other sessions include:
- maintaining physical, emotional, mental and spiritual balance,
- rebuilding rituals,
- building support systems and creating self-care plans.
Medical Coverage
If a participant is eligible for extended medical coverage as a status Indian, the following information may be useful in the pre-treatment process.
Medical benefits cover counselling sessions with a registered psychologist or family therapist. In addition to these sessions, there is funding for trauma counselling. The process to access these funds includes:
- ensuring contact between the therapist/counsellor and the doctor and getting a referral to the Qul-Aun program
- having a doctor direct the referral to the Medical Services Branch of Health and Welfare Canada.
- getting a referral/request for trauma counselling from a doctor giving specific reasons for the need for trauma counselling
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