INDIVIDUAL COUNSELLING:
Professional staff provide short-term individual counselling to adult women who are survivors of sexual violence, past or recent. Counselling is also available to non-offending parents of sexually abused children.
- Workshops for Partners of Survivors
Numbers permitting, we offer a two evening workshop for partners of women survivors once each year. The workshop assists partners in understanding the healing process and coping with the stress that the effects of sexual trauma places on relationships. We also offer an individual information session to partners, friends or family members of survivors on an as requested basis.
Avalon Centre Counselling Program Principles
We recognize that childhood sexual abuse and adult sexual assault are crimes committed within our society, which can cause profound impacts within many areas of an individual's life, extending out to families, workplaces and the community.
We recognize a direct connection between the occurrence of sexualized violence and the daily practices of inequality and sexism in our society, which socializes men to accept dominant attitudes and roles.
We share a view that all forms of oppression are interconnected including sexism, racism, homophobia, ageism, classism and ableism. These reinforce the subordination, diminishment and control of others and a power over, power under view of relationships. We are conscious of power relations in responding to the stories of women's lives.
While the majority of those who sexually abuse/assault are men, we recognize that a small number of women have also perpetrated sexual crimes.
We believe in the right of women to receive accessible counselling to address immediate and/or longer-term effects arising from sexual violations.
We recognize that a healing or recovery process is both uniquely individual, as well as, a shared journey amongst women who have experienced sexual abuse/assault.
We recognize that engaging in a process of addressing sexual abuse/assault effects needs to be an individual's choice throughout to help counter the control taken by the perpetrator(s).
We follow a client-centered, collaborative approach in supporting women and honor the wisdom, knowledge, and perspectives shared by each individual. We view women as being "the expert" on themselves and walk beside each in offering support, information, and validation.
We place an emphasis on safety and trust building within the counselling relationship, which we view as vital to the resolution and healing of relational trauma. We believe that this requires counsellors to provide transparency with full information being given regarding the process and intentions.
We build in much safety so that the counselling process feels paced and manageable. We mutually assess with women current safety concerns, emotional crisis, and life stressors that may need to be addressed prior to or during the counselling process.
