Pubdate: Wed, 4 Apr 2001
Source: Esquimalt News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 Esquimalt News
Contact:  http://www.esquimaltnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1290
Author: Mark Browne

ADDICTION COUNSELLOR SEEKS TO HEAL THE SOULS OF ADDICTS

Addicts trying to kick their habits should connect with their souls - not 
their egos - if  they want to recover.

That's what a local addiction counsellor has to say about the spiritual 
approach he  uses to treat addicts.

"What happens with addiction is that it's more of an ego trip than anything 
else," says  Ron Quesnel, who just started up Ron Quesnel Counselling 
Services in Esquimalt.

He says addicts deal with the guilt they have about being dependent on 
various substances by sabotaging themselves.

Quesnel stresses that while he takes a spiritual approach to counselling 
addicts it's  not a religious approach. He says the model he uses is the 
12-step recovery system  that originated with Alcoholics Anonymous.

Quesnel says the 12 step program essentially involves the addict moving 
from an ego-based "me myself and I attitude" to realizing that it's time to 
make a spiritual connection and start following his or her dreams.

"That's basically what I do in my workshop. I teach people to be inner 
spirit directed,"  he says.

Quesnel treated addicts for more than 20 years before staring up his own 
operation in   Esquimalt. From 1993-97 he worked as an addictions 
counsellor at the Dallas House  where he notes he had about 200 people go 
through his program.

Quesnel has treated addicts of all types - from alcoholics to drug users. 
Whether  someone has a drinking problem or they're hooked on heroin or 
cocaine their addictions are essentially behavior addictions, he says.

"Much of it is learned. There's all kinds of theories, it's not just 
genetic," says Quesnel, who had a drinking problem himself before earning 
an MA and becoming an  addiction counsellor.

When someone does overcome an addiction they undergo tremendous 
transformations, he says. People who recover from addictions develop a 
better sense  of themselves and they become more compassionate, Quesnel 
explains.

"It's kind like undergoing a resurrection," he says. "A whole new person 
develops from  the humbling of finally admitting that they have a problem 
and facing it, and going  through the steps."

People who use Quesnel's services pay for treatment out of their own 
pockets. He  says addicts can access subsidized treatment in provincial 
government-run harm reduction programs.

But the harm reduction approach, which he says involves getting addicts to 
cut down  on their habits, doesn't have a very good track record. Quesnel 
says he stopped  working for government-run programs for that very reason.

Other consequences of addictions that can also be quite severe. Addicts 
aren't the only people who suffer as their addictions can be devastating on 
their families.

Addictions are also bad for creativity, he says, noting he does work in the 
area of  "creative recovery".

"People lose their sense of direction in life and they lose their ability 
to be creative. They develop some very strong creative blocks because 
they're sabotaging  themselves," says Quesnel. "So once they get through 
this all of a sudden all of their  creativity comes out."
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