I am so happy that I am enrolled in the ARCS Program.
It has changed my life forever, even with what little time I have put in it. Right now, I
have gotten a few basic techniques for working with my inner child and self-diagnosed
PTSD conditions.
This Program has been very supportive of me since the first day I started.
Our class time, curriculum and my Professor are very supportive to me and all my
classmates. For me it important to have support and be able to learn at my own
pace. My closest friends have no idea of the constant self-criticism I go through, the
fear of saying something wrong, or even expressing my true self about my childhood
abuse problems. Yes, I do get scared about sharing. However, it always turns out OK,
and my classmates understand what I am going through.
I have been a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor for the past 30 years
and a recovering alcohol/addict since 1987.
All I’ve ever wanted was to help my clients find a foundation to stay clean and be
happy. I worked in various areas of the criminal justice system all my sober life. I
wound up feeling very powerless do to help my clients because the system is not set
up anymore for individuals to find themselves. It’s set up to “herd people through”, for
dollars.
Being a true counselor became more difficult for me, as time went on. When I was
working in the system, I felt like I was only there signing papers. My last job was
very uncaring to clients and personally demeaning for me.
Now, I know from studying at ARCS, that I have options in my counseling and
nobody stands over me to criticize how I think. It has been so freeing.
More than that is being able to work with my inner child to become a healthy
adult. I’ve always known that I needed help. I was glad that my Professor didn’t push
me into more talk about my experiences. She welcomed me to the class and let me
hear other classmates discuss their issues.
By listening to other classmates, that day, I realized my abuse history was nothing
to be ashamed of. In fact, that was what I was there for — to work on myself in a
supportive, protective environment.
The ARSC Program is the only place I have attempted to do this, mainly because of the
supportive environment. My life had been repeating the same mistakes with the same
outcomes:
• I’ve never been able to save much and have always been bad with finances,
even though I know how to do that.
• I’ve had three major relationships including my marriage, where I was “blinded”
to my needs, by my co-dependence.
• I choose men who are narcissists, abusive both physically and mentally, and use
sex as power. l was married for eleven years was a narcissist. Finally, I left him,
after realizing I was bankrupt — I was able to somehow use this as a valid
“excuse” to go.
• I have equated sex as someone loving me, until now.
• I can’t stand arguing — someone belittling me or someone else — yet, I have
never been able to be assertive.
In short, this Program is teaching me to live my true self and comfort my inner child as
she works through her abuse. It has change my feelings toward myself, as well as
giving me tools to address my own issues. All I have to do is show up and do the
work.
The ARCS Program is important to me because I really want to be a happy person
for myself — and to help my clients.
It is making me realize each day that I am important enough to help myself. I’m sure
that, by the time I complete this course, I will experience even more and begin to be a
healthy adult — thanks to this Program.