Victim Services
These are the first people you will see when you come to the Men’s* Therapy Centre; there is no charge to see a Victim Service worker.
Victim Services workers are here to offer you short-term emotional and practical support.
They can:
- Give information about reporting your abuse/assault to the police if you want to
- Help you understand how trauma can affect you and your family
- Help you prepare for court should you choose to pursue charges against your offender
- Refer you to one of our counsellors for ongoing therapy
- Help you apply for Crime Victim Assistance funding for ongoing counselling, should you not be able to pay for yourself
- Refer you to other social service agencies you may need
Counselling
A therapist can meet with you on a one-to-one basis. They are trained and experienced in helping men who have experienced trauma, including childhood sexual abuse.
All the therapists at the Men’s Trauma Centre are professional counsellors with a Masters Degree in Counselling or Social Work. They are all registered with a professional counselling body in BC.
Each therapist has trained in different therapeutic approaches including Somatic Experiencing, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Client Centred approaches. You will receive supportive and confidential therapy in a safe environment.
Sessions are usually weekly and may be funded by you or another agency/organization. We offer a sliding fee scale to make therapy more affordable and accessible to as many men as possible:
Individual
Individual Therapist – $120.00 – $80.00 per hour
Student Therapist – $20.00 per hour
Group
Stage I Trauma – $20.00 per week
Whomever you see, you will receive supportive and confidential therapy in a safe environment. For over 10 years we have been working with men who have experienced trauma and are ready to listen to you!
Youth Crime Reduction Program
Criminal behaviour has been linked to the experience of abuse and trauma in childhood. Our clinic is looking at this connection and how trauma therapy/counselling may help to reduce further crime and involvement in the criminal justice system among young men aged 16-30. This program involves an intake and assessment session, 15 sessions of individual trauma therapy/counselling, as well as a post-program assessment session. We are offering these 15 weeks of therapy for free with full participation.
Groups
Groups are offered when there are enough participants who are ready to start one. A therapist will talk with you about what group therapy is like, what to expect and whether you are ready to join a group. One of the benefits of being in a group is sharing with others who have also experienced trauma. We do charge a fee of $20.00 per week for groups and there may be limited subsidies available.
Groups we currently offer:
The Stage One “You Are Not Alone” Trauma Stabilization Group is a 10-week educational program intended to support and begin to facilitate the healing process for men who have experienced the effects of trauma. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can disrupt a person’s social, physical, mental, and emotional worlds leaving them in a state of heightened anxiety for years. PTSD affects one’s ability to cope with everyday stressors, to navigate relationships, and to care for themselves limiting their capacity to experience a true sense of life satisfaction. The group is designed to provide tools and to build skills to assist participants to:
- increase their personal health and well-being
- increase their sense of connection and belonging
- increase their ability to create personal safety so they can begin to navigate difficult emotions (e.g. anger, sadness, shame) outside of the group
- decrease overall stress through helping clients understand how to more effectively manage and reduce PTSD-specific symptoms (e.g., avoidance, intrusive thoughts/memories, anxiety, depression)
Groups typically run in September and January and a brief screening interview is required in order to participate. Please contact us if you are interested in more information and/or want to take that step to move forward in your healing and recovery from PTSD within an inclusive, safe, and supportive group environment.
The Stage Two Trauma Recovery Group is a group that focuses on the shared experience of trauma, so seldom discussed openly or in a thoughtful, corrective/healing way among male survivors. In particular, in a Stage 2 group participants will support each other in the disclosure and bearing witness to each-others’ stories of trauma. The structure of the group allows for the following:
- normalization and a sense of inclusion, through increased awareness that other mens’ personal impacts/suffering from trauma are similar to their own
- validation and empathy for each others’ experiences
- building of self-confidence through empowering feedback from others
- metabolizing of the trauma “story”.
To take part in a stage two group participants must have completed the stage one group or done other similar trauma stabilization work and completed a screening interview. The group will run once we have enough men to participate. Please contact us if you are interested in continuing your journey of healing from trauma.
* man/male/boy includes cis, gay, bi-sexual, trans, non-binary, 2spirit, queer, gender fluid+