The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

BEFORE it assumed the role of providing counselling and support to the abused and emotionally scarred, the Christian Counselling Center was a place where cocaine addicts turned for help.

Several years after its started in 1986 at the Adaline B Russell Building, Collins Avenue, the CCC shifted its focus to support families instead of solely providing treatment for substance abusers.

The accomplishments of the center through its 26 years of existence, were recently celebrated with a special service at Calvary Bible Church.

The CCC was born out of a ministry at the church and now provides counselling to individuals, couples, families, and groups for a number of issues including marriage, family, behavioral, interpersonal, grief, HIV/AIDS support, spiritual, emotional, stress and anger management.

"We did not want the centre to be denominational. This was why we went on our own because we did not want to have people looking at us as if we only catered to a specific denomination," said Pastor Frederick Arnett.

"The CCC exists to help hurting people by providing professional counselling and educational resources that inspire growth in the relationship with God, others and self in an accepting, caring, confidential environment", said Pastor Arnett.

The center's reputation is reflected in the number of consultations conducted on a regular basis. Every month the CCC conducts at least one hundred consultations. Pastor Arnett said 70 percent of those consultations address communication issues in the family.

"Although the problems present themselves in different ways, the root of most of the problems that we see is communication. We have some individuals come in and say their partners have stopped talking and their relationships have changed because of this. We encouraged them to communicate much more because it will help the relationship," said Pastor Arnett.

The centre also conducts a high volume of marital counselling. In these sessions, communication is addressed head.

"This is one of the most important part of our service, because the family is so important. We look at every aspect of marriage. Dealing with conflict is a major thing because everyone goes through conflict and it is important for couples to know exactly how to manage it. Things like sexual expectations, relationship roles, are also addressed during pre-marital counselling," he said.

Four years ago CCC was able to expand its services to the Family Islands. Marsh Harbour, Abaco is the first Family Island to be open a satellite branch. After hosting a seminar on the island Pastor Arnett said he became deeply concerned about the need for an outlet for the many hurting people.

"We have been concerned with helping hurting people and there were so many people on the island that were and are hurting. They begged us to stay so we went up as a group on the island and formed a center. The centre is doing very good in Marsh Harbour and the main thing is that we are there to provide people with the support and counselling that they need," he said.

Erecting a new centre in Freeport and other Family Islands is on the agenda in the near future.

"Our concern is targeting places that really need help and Freeport is one of those places. I would like to see a centre there," he said.