J.V. is a man who is alienated from his children. Here’s how finding CCMF Alberta impacted him:

Q: What brought you to CCMF Alberta?

A: After the breakdown of my 16 year marriage in 2012, my ex-wife started a campaign to alienate my 4 children from me.  After spending time at CCMF, I realized her campaign started long before the divorce. After the divorce, I was in a constant battle to get my court ordered access to my children and suffered terrible emotional abuse from my ex. I was informed by my ex’s lawyer that she had sold the family home and was moving to Kelowna on September 1. This was the final blow for me. After a long and expensive legal fight to keep my kids in Calgary, I lost and found myself devastated and broken.

Q: What was it that we provided helped you the most and how are you better for it?

A: For over a decade I was living in my own personal hell. As a man going through a high conflict divorce and being alienated from his kids, it brought such embarrassment and shame that it made it extremely difficult to share my circumstances with anyone. The intake coordinator was gracious and empathetic to my situation and made me aware of the services available to me in my situation.

The peer support group was a safe place to share my story and grieve. What was interesting was there are men from all walks of life, social status, and ethnicity. Abuse is not exclusive to one walk of life.

While I was not physically abused, I was a victim of 6 of the 8 forms of abuse for the past 30 years. I am currently halfway through my second session of the Nexus Recovery program. This is an excellent program that walks us through a healing journey. The confidentiality of these meetings allows men to build strong relationships and feel safe to share amongst friends. The first session helped to stabilize my emotions and allowed me to realize that I may be able to heal. I entered the first session a broken man but by the second session I felt like a positive contributor to a group working together in our journey to healing.

Q: Where do you think you’d be if you didn’t find CCMF Alberta?

I was devastated, broken and without hope before I found CCMF. While I still have a ways to go, I know that I have a support community to help me with the journey. What is amazing to see is the bonds and transformation of the men in the short while I have been with CCMF and our desire to want to be more involved and help our fellow man.

It is difficult to explain the emotional pain of Domestic Abuse and Parental Alienation. If I did not have access to the support structure CCMF provides, my physical and emotional health would continue to deteriorate. I would most likely have to look to unhealthy ways to medicate and mask my pain which I never wanted. CCMF has been a true godsend for me.

If you or someone you know has been a target of Cultural/Religious Abuse, our Domestic Abuse Recovery Program might be for you.

Alternatively, you can Contact Us, and an Intake Agent will call you regarding your request as soon as possible.

We’re here for you and we hear you.