Community Holistic Circle Healing Case Study

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The healing circle is a valuable technique used within Aboriginal communities, to initiate healing through their own traditional belief systems (Stevenson, 1999). Traditionally, “a sharing of one’s journey is a great teacher, for it acknowledges that the pain, laughter, and love we experience can bring us closer together and helps us to learn from one another’s experiences” (Stevenson, 1999, p.9). Moreover, Aboriginal peoples created the healing circle to help each other learn from personal experiences, and to ensure the community says connected to one another. An organization that uses healing circles to connect individuals is called the Community Holistic Circle Healing. This organization uses healing circles as a response to sexual abuse …show more content…

All components of the program incorporate traditional knowledge to nurture a healthy relationship with the spirit world, the earth and with those who suffer, as well as to identify and support a community orientation and traditional ways-of-doing (Government of Canada, 2015). Community Holistic Circle Healing operates when “the community makes referrals to the caseworkers who then work with the victim, offender and children” (Government of Canada, 2015, p.1). After this takes place, the caseworkers come together and hold healing circles for the victim and offender jointly (Government of Canada, 2015). All individuals who take part in this healing circle give consent and the victim and offender are only brought together if they both agree to do so (Government of Canada, 2015, p.1). Accordingly, Community Holistic Circle Healing works with all individuals involved in the offence or issue to initiate …show more content…

i) The seven teachings include, courage, knowledge, respect, honesty, humility, love, and truth (Native Counselling Services of Alberta, 2016). The Thirteen step Community Holistic Circle Healing process begins immediately after disclosure of sexual assault occurs. The disclosures could be accidential or intentional and may come from a “victim, a family member, a spouse, a community member who witnesses an abuse, or even the victimizer him/herself” (Buller, 2005, p.9). Then, establishing safety and protection for the victim is the next priority (Cripps & McGlade, 2008, p. 1). Finding safety involves Child and Family Services, identifying a safe home, validating the disclosure and ensuring an ally is available to the victim (Buller, 2005). After safety is established, the victimizer is confronted and the situation is explained to them. Support is given to the spouse or family of the victimizer as well as the families affected since this is an extremely difficult time for the spouse and the victimizer (Cripps & McGlade, 2008). Within four days of disclosure, a meeting between the assessment team and the police to present all the information, to decide how to proceed and to review the responsibilities of the meeting participants (Buller, 2005). Afterward, the

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