Child & Youth Counselling Program
What is the CWWA Program?
The IWS children's counselling program is designed to aid children who have been impacted by abuse in the family and extended community. By working with children and youth, the CWWA program strives to interrupt the intergenerational cycle of abuse by promoting healing. CWWA counselling addresses the emotional, social, behavioural, and historical issues surrounding abuse and violence, and helps the children cope with the impact of an abusive environment.
The CWWA program provides both group and individual counselling for children. While the children's counselling component is the primary focus, the CWWA program also includes provisions to support caregivers, as well as a school based educational component focusing on awareness and prevention.
Violence in rural communities effects everyone. On Haida Gwaii, the history of oppression towards the First Nations adds its own challenges. We can begin the process of change by moving forward in a spirit of co-operation - learning from each member of the community, understanding the struggle, and healing together for a better future.
Symptoms of Distress
Behavioural Problems - aggression, tantrums, acting out, immaturity, truancy, delinquency, and hyperactivity.
Emotional Problems - anxiety and prolonged stress response, depression, isolation, low self-esteem, anger.
Interpersonal Difficulties - poor social skills, peer rejection, mistrust of others, and lack of empathy.
Cognitive Problems - poor academic performance, difficulty with language development, and poor concentration.
Possible physical problems - failure to thrive, sleeplessness, eating disorders, poor motor skills and psychosomatic complaints.
Attitudinal symptoms - condoning the general use of violence, minimizing effect of violence on the victim, believing that violence is a normal part of an intimate relationship.
Creative Acts as Therapy
Change is accomplished through the use of art and play therapy, a natural counselling approach for children that emphasizes the power of the image and imagination to communicate. Art therapy is also appealing for youth, as much of the work can be done in a non-verbal and non-confrontational manner through the artwork. It is a process of joint creation of meaning between the therapist and the client. The CWWA program on Haida Gwaii does not work from a position of authority. Rather, the counsellor facilitates the client's discovery of their personal, social, and historical attitudes towards violence and abuse.
