With the events of the past week, many people in the southeast have been struggling with how to deal with difficult issues. One place to turn is the Envision Counselling and Support Centre.

"I think it's really important to remember that there are a lot of people who have been impacted secondarily throughout this process," shared Christa Daku, Executive Director of Envision Counselling and Support Centre. "We have to remember that there are family members attached to everybody that's involved, there are coworkers that are attached."

"For Envision, our focus here really is to be able to provide tools and support to those who want it. To those who have been impacted, we have programming available that would meet their needs. Be it friends of the victims, or friends of the family, we have programming that would definitely assist in getting them through this difficult time."

"Our case loads are really, really high so that said, I think the stigma around counselling has definitely decreased over the years. It's not a pride thing anymore. It's common to be able to look in the mirror and acknowledge that you're not doing the best you could be with certain circumstances. And just picking up the phone and calling one of our offices, we can do that and they will be forwarded on to an intake counselor who will put them through a screening process to figure out which program and which office will fit the best."

Envision currently offers a number of different programming to individuals and families in the southeast. 

"The Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Program is our core program and we've been offering that program for almost 23 years. That program is for individuals, males and females whose lives have been impacted through violence. So that includes someone who is in an abusive relationship, someone who is out of an abusive relationship and has that trauma in their past, or someone who had it in their childhood."

"And it also provides support to secondary survivors, which would probably be the family members of the individuals involved. Those that aren't quite sure how to support the people who are directly involved. Because it is really important to be able to look after your own health and your own emotional well being while gong through this process."

"Then we have the Family Intervention Program which is for families with children in the home who have come across some for of crisis in their life and are having difficulty coping. So we offer family counselling. And we also have the Children Exposed to Violence Counselling Program which is for children and youth ages 5-18. We have a variety of programs where individuals can seek support to get through this process."

They have offices in four locations. 

"We have Estevan, Weyburn Carlyle and Oxbow. We've expanded over the years to be able to serve our geographical area a little bit better than we used to. But all of the offices offer Interpersonal Violence and Abuse counselling."

If you are struggling with issues in your life, Daku explained that there are several options for you to seek the support you need.

"The individual can call the office directly, and talk to the intake counselor, or they can go on our website www.envisioncounsellingcentre.com and we have an Ask A Counsellor button on that website that they can just ask a simple question, disclosing maybe a little bit of information and then they will be responded to within 24 hours." 

"I think it's just really important that we support the communities that we're in as individuals and as agencies as well. That's our vision that everyone can live a happy, healthy lifestyle." 

 

Envision Office Phone Numbers:

Estevan: 1-306-637-4004
Weyburn: 1-306-842-8821
Carlyle: 1-306-453-2405
Oxbow: 1-306-483-5555

Email: info@envisioncounsellingcentre.com

READ MORE: Westmoreland Coal Peewee AA Bruin Support Envision