Who should refer?
Referrals from The Police, Healthcare professionals, Social workers, Family and Criminal courts and indeed any other source are all welcome.
Who should be referred?
- Men 18 years and over.
- Are abusive towards any woman with whom they have or have had an intimate relationship.
- Including abuse towards family members and friends with whom they have not had a sexual relationship – for example sisters, cousins and mothers.
- Men who are violent – causing distress by: Shouting, Destroying furniture, Throwing and smashing property, Restraining, Pushing, Grabbing, Striking.
- Men who are emotionally abusive, for example – controlling, use offensive and abusive language with their victims.
- Men who are seeking ‘anger management’. We find on close questioning they have often been abusive and violent in their homes. Research suggests that pure anger management programmes are inappropriate for these individuals because they are not compelled to confront their controlling behaviour and assume that their anger is the root problem.
We can help men whose domestic abuse is complicated by substance and alcohol dependency as well as men with mild mental health disorders.
The Pathway
All referred men are assessed by us, they are then inducted into a group programme, some men are commenced on an individual programme initially.
The programmes last about 30 weeks with meetings every week lasting about one and a half to two hours each.
A core structure of Masculinity, Male Violence and controlling behaviour is considered in this time. Equally important is the men’s opportunity to discuss their difficulties and frustrations with other men and to find non abusive solutions to these problems.
At the root of our work is the promotion of the safety of women and children. We educate our patients concerning their roles and duties as fathers as well as highlighting the damage caused by domestic violence to children of all ages.