Darren LaBrecque Testimony for Counseling Recovery

My name is Darren LaBrecque from Bro-Hun Recovery Outreach and counseling advocacy for mental illness within the church. As for my "handicaps," they are A.D.D, Anxiety/Panic Disorder, Learning Disability, Cerebral Palsy-Scoliosis, and Depression. I came from an abusive alcoholic background where I was the brunt of my brothers and fathers' jokes. I was the stupid kid who would never amount to anything, but I beat the odds and did what most people would deem impossible. My father told me when I graduated High School at age 20; it took him long enough; I wish I never had a "retard” for a son. Life has always been a challenge for me, but I never gave up! My mom, my sister, and I moved to West Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1986 and then to Brattleboro, Vermont, in 1987. I worked many different jobs because of my disabilities, "which I was in denial of" got in the way. So I began drinking to cover my disabilities up. I became a "closet drinker" or "weekend drinker," consuming in one day what most people consume an entire week. I met a girl and moved back to Massachusetts again, not keeping jobs for very long, and this continued while dating a few different girls until 1996 when I moved to Tennessee with an old friend. I lived in Tennessee from 1996 until 2003, moving to Connecticut in 2003 and back to Massachusetts in 2004 to live with my sister. While living with my sister, I met and fell in love with Noel, who became my wife. I felt called to advocate for those who struggle with mental illness in the church too efficiently equip church leaders and fellow strugglers of psychological illness in proper communication and counseling skills.

I have accomplished writing and publishing a book, graduated college with a Bachelor's in Theology& Biblical Application. I am ordained through the UECA, and I also got licensed with ICCM. My goal here is teaching you because we are not "stupid," and we are not all "loony-birds"! My goal is to inspire others like me to find what they're good at and succeed at it. I am also married to a beautiful wife named Noel, who supports me all the way. Going to School and writing a book brought all my hidden issues to the forefront, forcing me to deal with them head-on. I am better for it as God has helped to grow into a leader for people like me. After putting it into a curriculum, I want to learn and teach the church how to communicate with those who struggle with mental illness. My curriculum will also help those who struggle with mental illness to interact with others like themselves and learn to counsel each other. I started a nonprofit mental health ministry for counseling recovery in Greenfield MA.

My name is Noel LaBrecque wife of Darren LaBrecque from Bro-Hun Recovery  Outreach. I was born into an abusive home. I have been in and out of many foster homes that were also abusive if not worse. I would not be here if it were not for God. My life had been already laid out for me by  God, even though I may not have seen it. I was sexually abused by my grandfather who then later when I acted out had demons cast out of me.  My father punched my mom who was nine months along in the stomach  leaving me scared and born with twisted toes that had to be reshaped. My  dad sexually abused me on visits during his “drinking stumpers!”  Doctors said I would never talk or walk, but look at me now I am a  living miracle and proof of God’s existence! I did not speak until I was eight years old and when I did, the Doctor who evaluated me cried. I  left when I was eight only to be put into homes that are more abusive worse than the first. One form of abuse I can remember after I left my house was a boy who sexually abused me while posing in front of a  Playboy magazine, he would abuse me till it hurt, but I could not say anything, for his mom would not believe me! In this home, I was also,  tied hands and feet to a bike pushed down a graveyard where I hit a  gravestone only to have the mom to say get back on. My life was lived in  14 foster homes twelve of them abusive and two of them Christian. The first Christian one could not adopt me and had to let me go, because of bad behavior; I hated them. Eventually, after a few other bad homes, I  went to another foster home that was Christian although the foster mother was obsessive-compulsive she led me back to the Lord! I met again up with my other Christian foster parents, and this foster dad became a  pastor and helped to perform my wedding. counselor counseling services
 

Before my marriage, I had a dream about being crucified on a cross and felt joy like, I never felt before. Then I had a second dream where I was yanking my hands off the cross, and the Lord told me to be still and trust Him. I did not understand the meaning of the dream until years later when I got married to my husband, Darren LaBrecque when all my past abuse came rushing back, and I took it out on Darren, but he stayed the course, and I love him all the more for it. It has made our marriage stronger. My goal is like my husband’s, except my mission is to reach the woman who had a dark past. As a couple, my husband and I will counsel married couples who struggle in their marriages. Little did I know my husband to be would somehow be connected to my childhood. I found out that his mom not only knew the doctor who evaluated me when I was eight years old, but she thinks she may have been on working the same time that I came in to be evaluated. My dad is now a born-again Christian who prays for me, and we talk every day! My goal is to counsel and equip women who have been abused with counseling services in anxiety counseling and counseling recovery in mental health Greenfield.