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Steps to Healing in Larne and Ballycastle

Tuesday May 10th 2011

The Wider Circle is holding two Steps to Healing residential programmes in Larne and in Ballycastle.

The organisation aims to create healing opportunities and promote wholeness for anyone who has experienced harmful or traumatic events.

The Steps to Healing programmes are free-of-charge and designed to help people who have suffered from trauma.  The residentials will take place on June 24-26 in Drumalis, Larne, and September 16-18 in Corrymeela, Ballycastle. 

Anyone who feels they might benefit from participating in the programme is very welcome, but spaces on the programme are limited so people are advised to get in touch as soon as possible.   

The Steps to Healing Programme is a self-help group healing programme. Participants share their experiences in a small, confidential and supportive setting, with people who have also suffered traumatic experiences. 

Facilitators of the programme have also been through the Steps to Healing Programme, this helps to create greater trust and understanding between facilitators and participants.  Only those who have personal experience of trauma may facilitate and they too communicate their stories with the group.

Each programme comprises of up to six participants with two or three facilitators.  The focus is on sharing the experience of trauma within the group, telling the trauma and life stories and creating artwork as part of the healing process.  This format is designed to show the participant their trauma story in the context of their life as a whole.  This allows them to see that the trauma which they have suffered was an event in their life and does not define their life. 

The disproportionate impact upon the person’s emotions is recognised – participants are encouraged to recognise the significance of the event. However, participants report that this structure enables them to see that life was good before their trauma occurred and that there is no reason why life should not be good again.  Participants can visualise the trauma as having a start and end point.  It has been reported that this is a big factor in helping people to ‘move on.’

For further information or to register, please contact The Wider Circle on 02890 693430 or email info@widercircle.org

You can download The Wider Circle’s newsletter here.

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