Domestic abuse groups

We offer a range of group work programmes to recover from the trauma of domestic abuse.

About our domestic abuse groupwork

Own My Life

The Own My Life course is an innovative, creative and educational 12-week course for women and aims to support women to regain ownership of their lives when they have subjected to abuse or violence by partner. This is done by using short videos, structured discussions, group and individual activities, and a comprehensive learning journal.

The course uses multimedia content to explain complex concepts about trauma and abuse in easy to understand video clips, along with videos which evidence how popular culture reinforces or perpetuates:

Sexism.
Rape culture.
Violence.
Misogyny.
Disrespect in relationships.
Abusive behaviour.

The women each get given a journal to complete throughout the course. The Own My Story Journal provides women with space for reflective practice, and includes all the information provided throughout the course. This becomes an ongoing resource for women after the course has finished. The course explores how women can regain ownership of our lives including owning our mind, body, choices, relationships, world, feelings.

Course aims

To educate and empower women who have been subjected to abuse to regain ownership of their own lives.
To equip and resource practitioners with the most up to date research and understanding about male violence.
To provide a replicable, easy to use resource for working with women.

Freedom Programme

The Freedom Programme is about abusive and controlling behaviour in relationships.

The philosophy of the programme is based on research that shows that in the majority of cases domestic abuse is committed by men against women. Each week looks at a different aspect of behaviour, looking at what the abuser says and how it is said, what the abuser does and why we believe them. It helps to identify the common tactics to gain power and control. The group works to look at the characteristics that can create both abusive and caring relationships.

The sessions are presented in a friendly but structured way, giving the opportunity for anyone to contribute if they wish to. The group sessions explore characteristics of abusive behaviour and supports women to develop ways of thinking and behaving to protect themselves and their children from harm.

Programme Aims

To help women recognise the beliefs held by abusive men.
To recognise the impact of their life experience on their own attitudes and beliefs.
To illustrate the effects of domestic abuse on children.
To increase a woman’s ability to recognise what steps she needs to take to protect her children.
To consider the characteristics that can create both abusive and caring relationships.
To assist women to recognise potential future abusers.
To help women gain self-esteem and the confidence to improve the quality of their lives.
To introduce women to the community resources, such as: Women’s Aid, The Police Domestic Abuse Unit, The Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, local colleges, employment, group work, support networks etc.

Frequenty Asked Questions

Q: I’ve been wanting to go to the Freedom Programme for a while, but I have missed a few sessions, and I’m worried that I won’t be able to catch up. Do you think I should wait until the beginning of the next programme to start?

A: Don’t worry at all about missing sessions, although most benefit is gained from completing all of the sessions in order, you can join the group whenever you like, even in week 11. It’s a rolling programme, so if you have to miss a few it won’t matter since each week is a different topic.

Q: I really want to come to the Freedom Programme but I’m worried that people will know why I’m there. What should I do?

A: We have a strict confidentiality agreement. We do not discuss anyone’s details within the group and insist that ‘whatever is said in the room stays in the room’.

Q: I want to go to the Freedom Programme this week, and I think it will be really useful and help me to build up my confidence, but I’m really nervous about going for the first time, and I’m worried I’ll have to talk about my experiences. What should I do?

A: There really is nothing to be concerned about. No one will ask you to talk about anything you don’t want to. The programme is a safe environment, and the group is asked for complete confidentiality.

Rockpool Recovery Toolkit

Rockpool Recovery Toolkit is a 12-week group programme that helps participants understand the impact of having experienced domestic abuse, explaining how they developed negative thinking patterns as a method of managing their risk and how these can hold them back from moving forward with their lives. Participation in the programme reinforces the individual’s own strengths, coping skills and resilience, contributing to improvements in health and wellness on a long-term, sustainable basis.

Power of Change Programme

Power of Change is a programme of 2-hour sessions over a period of 12 weeks. Each session aims to build knowledge around the drivers and dynamics of abusive relationships, the psychological impacts of abuse and how to build skills to support healthy personal development and relationships in the future. It is a safe and supportive environment for women to learn from one another and build confidence together after domestic abuse.

Session 1: Basic Rights – This session aims, among other things, to create a warm, safe and welcoming environment for everyone attending, and ensure that everyone has a good understanding of their basic rights as women.
Session 2: Definition of Abuse – This session develops an understanding of domestic violence as an issue of power and control, involving sexual, emotional, financial and physical abuse, which is solely the responsibility of the perpetrator. Participants will be encouraged to build trust in the group so that they feel comfortable about sharing their stories.
Session 3: Why is it so hard to leave? – In this session, participants will look at the complex reasons why women find it hard to leave abusive relationships, and analyse how women’s place in society contributes to these difficulties. The Duluth ‘Power and Control’ Wheel model of abuse will be introduced.
Session 4: Families and Children – Participants will be helped to connect emotional patterns that may be learned in childhood to difficulties in constructing healthy adult relationships, and will also learn some practical ways of supporting children experiencing domestic abuse.
Session 5: Boundaries – The aims of this session include: defining boundaries, identifying potential situations in which boundaries could be challenged, looking at positive ways of asserting boundaries (and the potential dangers in this), and understanding the link between the lack of clear, healthy boundaries and domestic abuse.
Session 6: Coping with grief, fear and guilt – Participants will be helped in acknowledging, understanding, and learning to manage the feelings of grief, fear, guilt and anxiety that accompany abusive relationships.
Session 7: Coping with anger – Participants will start to realise that anger is a natural emotion, understand the potential dangers in unresolved anger, and learn how to manage angry emotions constructively.
Session 8: Assertiveness skills, boundary setting and assertiveness techniques – In this session, participants will gain a better understanding of assertiveness (including the difference between assertiveness and aggression), discuss the ‘Bill of Rights’, and learn how to maintain safety while being assertive. Participants will begin to learn practical ways of being assertive. These issues may be addressed either in one session, or in two, depending on the time available and the needs of the women in the group.
Session 9: Dealing with requests and authority figures – Following on from previous sessions, participants will gain a better understanding of why it is difficult to make and refuse requests, learn how to make and refuse requests, and to deal assertively with authority figures. This session may be combined with Session 10.
Session 10: Practicing assertiveness – This session will continue to build the participants’ confidence in using assertiveness skills, and will help them identify and overcome the stumbling blocks they may face when being assertive. This session and the preceding one may, if appropriate, be combined into one session.
Session 11: Healthy relationships – The aims of this session are to identify the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships, distinguish between healthy and unhealthy forms of conflict, and gain an understanding of the lack of realism in stereotypical representations of romantic love.
Session 12: Ending and new beginnings – The final session will recap what has been learnt in the course, celebrate how far the women have come, recognise individual strengths, and accept the ending of the course while anticipating new beginnings.

Criteria: Prospective participants should be female and living free from their abuser and can see themselves benefiting from taking part in this group work.

Phoenix

The Phoenix Project is a ten week psycho-educational programme that explores how to stay safe in and out of abusive relationships, the tactics that abusers use and the effect that abuse has had on us as individuals as well as looking at our own boundaries and communication. It is a supportive and educational group designed to help people move past abuse to live healthier happier lives. It’s suitable for men and women (although not in the same group) and those in same sex relationships.

Accessing our services

You can make a referral to any of our services – whether you’re seeking support for yourself or contacting us as a professional. Choose an option below.