| Dealing with Stress and Abuse
Counseling and Psychotherapy [Top]
Counseling usually means communicating about a problem, either
new or old, with a professional who is trained to listen and offer assistance.
Counseling can help people to be clear about what they want. Psychotherapy
involves exploring issues in depth from the past and in the present to
help understand why people may respond in certain ways to different things
in their lives. Counselors and psychotherapists are trained to support
people in exploring and expressing their feelings.
There are many different types of counseling to help people work through
difficult issues in their lives. Some counseling techniques rely on a
lot of communication while other types do not. The type of counseling
that works best depends on you and the counselor.
For this reason, it may be necessary to try different counselors and different
techniques.
It is OK to ask questions about how a counselor works and what methods
they use. If it does not feel right to you, do not be afraid to say so
and stop.
Sometimes it can take a while before you find the right counselor for
you. Trust your feelings about this. You have a right to useful and appropriate
services. You may decide to take someone with you for the first few times
to help the counselor know how to communicate with you.
Counseling and psychotherapy can take time. Sometimes people may feel
worse before they feel better.
An example of counseling:
John goes to counseling sessions where he uses his communication display
to express his feelings and fears relating to past abuse. He has nobody
in his life with whom he can communicate about this topic. Although the
abuse happened years ago, memories surface and feelings overwhelm him
to the point that he feels he cannot go on living. He hopes counseling
will help him.
Finding an Advocate [Top]
An advocate is someone who supports you in doing something. This can be
a family member, friend, paid worker or volunteer. The role of an advocate
depends on the need, but generally an advocate acts on the direction of
the AAC user to get a specific result.
Disability consumer groups may offer this type of support. For example,
some independent living centers across Ontario have advocacy programs
to help people around different issues related to independent living,
such as, attendant services etc.
An example of advocacy:
Tina felt physically and emotionally unsafe with one of her attendants.
She lived at home and felt that she would "burden" her mother
if she complained or requested a change. She communicates via a picture
display and was unable to independently contact the supervisor of the
attendant agency. She was able to communicate her concerns to a social
worker. The social worker, acting with Tina's permission discussed the
situation with the manager of the agency. The agency arranged for a replacement
worker.
Support Groups [Top]
Getting support from people who have experienced similar things can sometimes
be very helpful. In Toronto there is a support group for AAC users at
the Anne Johnston Health Station.
The Centre for Independent Living in Toronto (CILT) also has several peer
support groups for people with disabilities of different ages and also
social groups such as the 'diners' club', which goes to a different accessible
restaurant every month.
The Toronto Rape Crisis Centre organizes support groups for people who
have experienced violence and who would like to connect to people with
similar concerns.
Alcoholics Anonymous often have wheelchair accessible meetings across
the city for those who are living with addictions to alcohol.
Although some groups may be difficult for an AAC user to join, others
may be willing to adapt their group to include people with disabilities.
An example of support groups:
Sue goes to a peer support group. The group members are all adults who
use AAC. The group meets once a month and is facilitated by a woman who
is a disability educator and a man who uses AAC. The members work with
their facilitators in [developing] their agenda for the meetings. Attendant
services are provided and the attendants are trained in supporting people
with their communication during group discussions. Sue tells us that she
likes the fact that people in the group understand her issues as an AAC
user, and that she gets a great deal of emotional support and understanding
from other AAC users. She likes sharing her experiences and opinions with
others. Being an all AAC user group – she says she does not feel
intimidated to rush her communications as everyone understands the value
of participation and accommodates the time that it takes.
Meditation [Top]
Meditation is the art of calming or relaxing the mind which, if done right,
can give someone the feeling of being "at peace" for a period
of time.
Meditation usually involves a certain type of relaxing breathing and visualization
(picturing something calming in your mind).
Some people meditate everyday and some people meditate when they are having
a stressful time.
Meditation could be useful for someone who uses AAC because it is something
you do for yourself and does not rely on communicating with others.
Most people need someone to help teach them how to meditate and lots of
practice.
To find out more:
- Check your local independent living center or consumer disability organizations for resources.
- Check local yoga classes (some disability organizations offer yoga)
- Borrow books or tapes from the library.
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