NEWS PHOTO GILLIAN SLADE Ernie Wouters, founder and CEO of Seven Edge, has a unique counselling method to help those who have experienced traumatic events that have shaped how they feel about themselves and in some cases contributed to addiction issues.
gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade
A local counsellor says everyone some baggage as a result of negative childhood experiences, but people dealing with addictions could have 30 or 50 symptoms from each unresolved trauma.
“The emotional needs are the draw … driven by the addiction,” said Ernie Wouters, founder and CEO of Seven Edge, who is providing counselling to clients at the Mustard Seed.
Wouters says the message that the person received in those negative childhood experiences often limits their full potential throughout life.
There may be the memory of an incident when negative words were spoken to them. It began affecting how they felt about themselves. Those words spoken did not actually change the person but the message they internalized altered how they thought about themselves, affecting them emotionally and mentally. Those negative messages are compounded over time.
The average person has had about 10 incidents but others could have five times as many. Some may have had sufficient supports at the time to negate or limit the negative message, while others did not.
Wouters understands the rejection that homeless people feel. Some years ago he spent a day undercover as a homeless person. He disguised himself completely and made a point of using a specific posture as well. Even though he is well-known in the community nobody recognized him, he says. He begged for money and asked for a job. At the end of a day he had collected $7.50, which he gave to someone who was genuinely homeless.
“Seven hours seemed like seven days,” said Wouters. “It was good exposure to rejection.”
It is one of the reasons Wouters has worked on a counselling program that includes a “life mapping” process to address the individual’s needs in a one-on-one session. In some cases there are two sessions for a total of about eight or 10 hours. He says some people can go from “captivity to freedom” in as little and four hours.
It is important in a “life mapping” process to identify specific incidents and experiences that are still affecting them, said Wouters. There is loss that occurs through trauma. The loss of their emotional needs not being met can effect their self-esteem, self-worth and employment opportunities. Depression can be one of the repercussions. A memory from childhood can limit the person’s potential.
His experience from providing “life mapping” to management and staff in places of employment shows it can dramatically change an employment environment, too.
Wouters says identifying the traumas and isolating them provides increased knowledge and empowers the person to stay free of something that has held them captive.
Currently the Mustard Seed management team refers individuals for counselling, which takes place at its wellness centre.
