4 —- Wednesday, October 28, 1998 - North Shore News

Program breaks cycle of vi

Native men benefit by Change of Seasons

Katharine Hamer
Contributing Writer

ROSS Muehlforth says
his life was a mess
before he got involved
with the Change of
Seasons Program.

“My lite was quite chaat-
ic. Thad no real direction, no
career, no meaning! rela
vionship,” said) Muchiforth.
Now he is a cCordinator with
the program,

Chanze of Seasons is a
counselling Program
designed to help First
Nations men tackle their
problems with domestic vic-
lence.

The program is based on
the Capilano Reserve in
North Vancouver and was
laanded in 1992. It is the
only one of its kind in
Canada.

The name was chosen by
Squamish Band elders. The
name illustrates “the change
of seasons in a man’s life,”
said Muehlforth. “Fall and
winter can often be a dark
time, whereas spring and
summer are about renewal —
and that's the
Change of Seasons.”

So far, 300 native men
have completed the 16-week
program. The approach com-
bines traditional psvchother-
apy techniques with work-
shops tailored to the specitic
needs of the First Nations
community.

“Change of Seasons is
about breaking the cyclical
pattern of abuse”, said
Muchlforth. .

“Abuse and violence are
learned behaviour,”
Mucehlforth said, pointing
out that native men are par-
ticularly at risk from harmful
cultural influences in
Western society.

“We're at the bottom of

the totem pole,” — said
Muehltorth. “We're
oppressed daily. Our culture,
language, and traditions have
all been outlawed. It’s had a
major impact on_ First
Nations communities.”

Native men, said
Muchiforth, feel powerless in
their communities. They
believe they have lost their
traditional role as providers
and protectors, and their
feelings of weakness cause
them to lash out at their
partners.

He is quick to emphasize
that there is no justification

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EATON’S

goal of

tor the abuse of a lowed one.
But, he said, the Change of
Seasons program tries to
encourage men to change
their pattern of behaviour,

“The program is about
the healing and forgiveness
of the self” he said. “Men
need to know thev have the
opportunity to change. We
can’t change them, but we
can give them choices.”

Muehltorth believes thar
all men have been taught
since childhood not to reveal
weakness.

“Think about when a two
year old scrapes his knee,” he
said. “His father will always
tell him not to cry te tbe a
man. We need to learn that
we don’t have to be ashamed
of our feetings.”

The program: has grown
fargely by word of mouth
over recent years. Men. are
sometimes referred to
Change of Seasons by main-
stream counsellors.

Participants are mostly
from the Jocal community,
but several have come to the
program trom other parts of
the Lower Mainland and
even as far afield as Ontario.

“We work pretty closely
with provincial ministries as
well,” said) Muehlforth.
“Court- mandated men
who've been convicted of
assault are often given the
option of completing the
Change of Seasons program
as an alternative to a prison
sentence.”

Mucehlforth believes that
incarceration only exacer-
bates the problem of domes-
tic violence. By choosing to
pursue the program, native
men give themselves a real
shot at dealing with their
aggressive behaviour.

Dr. Morgan L. Brache

Dr. Mitch Rubin

The program is abe open
to naw native men involved
in relavionships with native
WOMCH.

In addition to its reguiar
sessions, Change of Seasons
runs ao short program in
wiger management over the
summer months.

A follow-up program
designed to deal with contlict
resolution and) communica-
tion issues for participants
for whom “the violence has
ended but the emotional
abuse nas continued,” is
being developed. “Its a
long-term process.”

Mucehltorth — anderlines
the importance of program
counsellors having had first
hand experience of partici-
pants’ problems. He says that
his own fife has improved
infinitely since he first: took
part in Change of Seasons.

“always had) problems
with relationships before,”
he said. “LT had a history of
domestic violence, and the
longest zelationship Thad
only lasted a vear, The short-
est was BVO weeks,”

Now, Muehlforth says, he
has been ina relationship for
six years, and he's “very

NEWS photo Terry Peters

PROGRAM coordinators Robert Nahanee, left, and Ross Muehiforth stand out-
side the Change of Seasons office at the Capilano Reserve.

much in love.” [t's a success
story he attributes in no

small part to Change of

Seasons.

Dr. Rosalynd Holdsworth

Dr. Sabrina Class

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