ethos Youth & Family strives to promote health and healing in children, youth, and families. The program offers culturally sensitive support for immigrant and refugee children, youth, and their families whom have been affected by trauma.

The program is guided by the following principles and values:

E ducation - awareness, understanding, and tolerance

T herapy - respect, safety, growth, development, and wellness

H ealing - acceptance, choice, freedom, inclusion and belonging

O utreach - providing a holistic service

S upport - happy and healthy youth and families

Children or youth may be experiencing:

• the impact of violence
• the impact of being forced to leave their country
• significant loss
• significant anxiety
• regressive behaviours
• intense physical reactions or symptoms
• nightmares and/or flashbacks
• loss of interest and pleasure in activities
• depression, hopelessness, or suicidal thoughts
• avoidance of activities, places, or people
• low affect or numbness
• irritability, restlessness, and/or difficulty concentrating
• feelings of mistrust or betrayal
• anger, guilt, or shame

Therapy Room

Services Overview

• respectfully addressing post-traumatic stress in children, youth, and their families and in doing so, addressing other stressors related to migration, resettlement, socio-economic barriers, and isolation
• individual and group therapy
  • mind and body awareness
  • creative arts
  • skills training
  • emotional awareness
  • affect regulation
  • strengthening and/or rebuilding attachment
  • supporting trauma resolution
  • healing within the family
• parent support and education
• outreach and educational services to schools, professionals, and community organizations
• interpretation for program services as needed

Who is Served

This program is designed for immigrant and refugee children and youth ages 3-18 and their families with a history of trauma including, a migration history marked by political or civil conflict, war, stressful resettlement or acculturation.

Services are available by referral from teachers, social workers, or other community service providers involved with immigrant and refugee youth and family. Interested parents or youth are welcome to contact us with questions and/or to self-refer.

What is trauma?

"The person experienced or witnessed or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the psycological integrity of others."

AND

"The person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror."

Alayarian, A., (2009), Children, torture and psychological consequences, Clinical Knowledge, 19(2), 145-56. Retrieved from, www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/2009

What is traumatic stress?

Traumatic stress happens when someone has experienced an event or a series of events that causes him/her to feel overwhelmed and out of control and he/she does not have the capacity to cope with such an event. The experience involves feelings of helplessness, vulnerability, loss of safety, and loss of control. Someone who is affected by traumatic stress will generally have difficulty with one or more of the following a) re-experiencing of the event, b) avoidance of situations and people and/or an inability to feel anything, and c) feeling aroused a lot of the time and/or frequent changes in mood.  In addition, there can be a major impact on the individual's ability to think or concentrate and or to connect with and express their feelings. They may have difficulty behaving appropriately in a situation in which the person is triggered by something that reminds them of the event(s).  Relating to and getting along with friends and family who may not understand the impact of the trauma may also become challenging.  Traumatic stress can lead to physical and health problems.  For children and youth in particular, traumatic stress has also been known to impact development.

Cohen, J. (2006). Treating trauma and traumatic grief in children and adolescents. New York, USA: Guilford Press.

James, B. (1989). Treating traumatized children: New insights and creative interventions. Massachusetts, USA: Lexington Books.

For more information:

• National Child Traumatic Stress Network http://www.nctsn.org/
• The Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture http://www.foundationhouse.org.au/home/index.htm
• Diversity Health Institute http://www.dhi.gov.au/Resources/Search/default.aspx?retain=true&pg=6
• Children's Hospital Boston Center for Refugees Trauma & Resilience http://www.chcrtr.org/toolkit/
• Child Trauma Academy http://www.childtrauma.org/
• Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute http://www.traumacenter.org/
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health http://www.camh.net/About_Addiction_Mental_Health/Mental_Health_Information/ptsd_refugees_brochure.html
• Refugee Children & Youth Backgrounder www.boiseschools.org/ell/irc.pdf
• Government of Canada Centre for Intercultural Learning www.intercultures.gc.ca
• United Nations Human Rights http://www.ohchr.org
• Citizenship and Immigration Canada http://cic.gc.ca/english/
• Amnesty International http://www.amnesty.org/
• Canadian Council for Refugees http://www.web.net/ccr/

This program is funded by:

• Alberta Health Services

Resources

Referral Form (DOCX)

Referral Form (DOCX - Printable) 

Contact us

ethos youth & family

Margaret Chisholm Resettlement Centre

23 McDougall Court NE

Calgary, Alberta T2E R3

T 403.298.8577 or 403.265.3538

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it