The Programme

This is an empowering programme which aims to enable men and women who experienced sexual abuse in their childhood to recover from the effects this abuse has left them with.

It is beginning to be acknowledged that childhood sexual abuse is a lot more frequent than people would have believed, or have wanted to believe in the past.

Our goal is to aid survivors in the healing process by providing support and encouragement to pursue a healthier and more fulfilled lifestyle.

Key outcomes:

  • Increasing self confidence
  • Getting back into education or employment
  • Reducing the dependency on 'peripheral' services
  • Keeping survivor's own children safer
  • Assisting survivors to be better parents
  • Understanding the effects of abuse
  • Better day-to-day coping strategies
  • Understanding anger

Our Programme Covers

Self directed healing time & empowerment

Perpetrators, power and protection

Flashbacks and memories

Active healing & developing healthier patterns

Anger and grief management

Art and sensory therapy

Validation

Myth busting

Self understanding

What the Programme Looks Like:

The programme is run over 9 weeks and consists of the following:
Each week starts and ends with a 5 minute check in for each attendee. The facilitators follow a scripted programme and provide attendees with materials and handouts each week, which they keep to refer back to. The content of the programme is copywritten. Each attendee also completes a workbook.

  • Week 1
    • Introductions
    • Pre programme paperwork
    • Confidentiality / safeguarding
    • Child protection, group rules and ice breaker
    • Room settings / preferences
  • Week 2
    • Introduce handouts / support between sessions
    • Understanding emotions related to abuse
    • Reinforce confidentiality
    • Journal work
    • Identifying as a survivor
  • Week 3
    • Explore how children cope with abuse at the time & adult coping mechanisms
    • Relaxation
    • Managing flashbacks
  • Week 4
    • Rescue / drama triangle
    • Grief cycle
    • Developing healthier patterns
    • Understanding and managing anger
    • Relaxation techniques
    • Poetry & expression
  • Week 5
    • Recognising and managing depression
    • Assertiveness
    • Emotional distortions
    • Affirmations and self esteem tools
  • Week 6
    • Active healing techniques
    • Confrontation
    • The recovery process
    • Introduce workbooks
  • Week 7
    • Inner child work / therapy
    • Workbooks
  • Week 8
    • User led week
    • Session around art / craft therapy and open discussions
  • Week 9
    • Stages of healing
    • Continued support
    • Endings / exit strategy
    • Complete post programme paperwork & evaluations

The programme, whilst delivered within a stringent framework is responsive to individual and group need and adheres to the following trauma-specific intervention principles:

  • The survivor's need to be respected, informed, connected, and hopeful regarding their own recovery
  • The interrelation between trauma and symptoms of trauma such as substance abuse, eating disorders, depression, and anxiety
  • The need to work in a collaborative way with survivors, family and friends of the survivor, and other human services agencies in a manner that will empower survivors

The programme is a unique space where people who have experienced a similar trauma can accept each other without blame or shame. It should be noted that the benefits of group work for survivors does so much that individual therapy cannot do, in terms of ‘normalisation’ of symptoms and reducing isolation and increasing belonging in particular. This programme aims to validate the abuse experienced and teach the individual how to cope better with the effects that the abuse has left them with and thereby decrease risk taking behaviours and reduce the cycle of abuse which can exist in families.

For men - The programme was originally designed and implemented for women, but in 2011 we consulted and ran pilot programmes with men which resulted in the development of a male version of the programme (called the IT Programme) driven by demand. The principles are similar but we have refined issues specifically pertaining to male survivors and adjusted some of our delivery methodology to work with male survivors.