If you’re looking to deepen your understanding of domestic violence, whether as a gatekeeper or an abusee yourself, consider enrolling in my Domestic Violence CPD Credential Course hosted by the Mental Health Academy.
This course provides a practical approach to successfully supporting an abusee of domestic violence, from identifying the signs of abuse to providing a safe space to talk, assisting with leaving strategies and supporting the abusee to rebuild their life.
Built around 8 simple and easy to remember rules, this course empowers professionals to make a real difference in domestic violence intervention and prevention.
Here is a snapshot of the course schedule:
Rule #1: Is there evidence of domestic violence?
- Understanding the domestic violence spectrum
- Paralinguistic & non-verbal signs of domestic violence
- From intuition to action: Effective questioning
Rule #2: Is there a need for emergency safety?
- Prioritising personal safety: The foundation of DV gatekeeping
- Assessing the need for emergency services
- Domestic violence: When and how do we intervene?
Rule #3: Providing reassurance to an abusee
- Establishing a supportive environment
- Ambivalence: Working with your client’s conflicted feelings
- Exploring motivations around staying and leaving
Rule #4: Encouraging an abusee to face the truth
- Challenging and holding: A solution-focused approach
- Seeing through the fog: Simplifying and bringing clarity
- Exploring the past and unlocking the future
Rule #5: Dangers and opportunities: When and how to leave
- Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats
- Preparing to leave: Strategic planning
- Providing practical help and preparing for challenges
Rule #6: Staying ‘left’: Helping an abusee to recognise hooks
- Guilt, empty promises, and the challenge of staying left
- Understanding the abuser’s mindset. Many relationship breakups (and toxic makeups) are fueled by the narcissism codependent relationship dynamic that I wrote extensively about in Learning How To Leave.
- What happens when an abuser says they’ve changed?
Rule #7: Not throwing the ball back
- Strategic communications: How to avoid conflict after leaving
- Preparing your client for mediation
- Safety first: When to seek professional support
Rule #8: Towards a health and balanced relationship
- Helping clients work through grief and trauma
- Discovering our client’s real hopes and needs
- Rebuilding the self and attracting healthy relationships
Enrolment information:
The course is self-paced, accessible online and offers professional development credits.
Abusee and perpetrator image credit: marieappert