Women's Programs
When we hurt the people we love, sometimes it’s because we don’t know what else to do. We may have been raised in a family where we saw men hurting women or parents hurting children. We may never have seen a healthy relationship or learned the skills to manage our emotions or our behaviors. This may explain our beliefs and actions, but it’s not an excuse.
Our women’s program is similar to that of our men’s program, but different in that women who use violence will sometimes use abuse to hurt and control others, but sometimes the violence is used to take their power back from someone who’s hurt them.
As women we may be hurting the ones we love or hurting ourselves. There comes a point when this has to change. When we hurt the ones we care for we lose their love. We also lose their trust. Power and control, disrespect and fear aren’t present in healthy relationships whether that relationship is with a family member or someone outside of that realm. Healthy relationships involve respect, communication, healthy boundaries and nurturing.
Day and evening groups are offered for women in this nine-month program. In group, participants lean about the dynamics of abuse and violence. They also learn about its effects themselves and on others. Participants learn that the person using abuse is responsible for their own behavior and for making necessary changes. The women in group are supportive and respectful of one another as they go through the change process together. Clients participate in discussions and exercises focusing on critical thinking and analysis of behaviors, intentions and irrational beliefs that are used to justify abuse.
Some of the healthy relationship skills clients learn include: communication skills, identification and appropriate expression of emotions, de-escalation skills, assertiveness, problem solving, listening skills, self-awareness, parenting skills, and boundaries.
"I've learned that violence is never an answer for anything, and I am a good person who deserves to be treated well and to treat others well."
T.A. Women's Group Participant