PARTNER SUPPORT EVERYMAN PROJECT 020 7263 8894 PARTNERSUPPORTEVERYMANPROJECTCOUK

ON BUSINESS PARTNERS LETTERHEAD DATE DUBAI CREATIVE CLUSTERS AUTHORITY
[PROJECT NAME] PARTNERSHIP STORY AGENCY PROJECT CONTACT NAME LOCATION
SPECIMEN – FARM PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT MATERIAL

COMMUNITY ORGANISATION AND SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS SCHOOL FACT SHEET
DELIVERING COMMUNITY SERVICES IN PARTNERSHIP GRANT AGREEMENT
GOVERNMENT’S PARTNER IN ACHIEVING RESULTS LOCKOUT TAGOUT

Everyman Partner Support Project

Partner Support @ Everyman Project

020 7263 8894

[email protected]

Partner Support – Client Charter

Men who attend assessments for the Men’s Counselling Programme for men who want to change their violent and/or abusive behaviour will hereafter be referred to as ‘Everyman Project Clients’.

Partners or ex-partners of Everyman Project Clients will hereafter be referred to as ‘Partner Support Clients’

Project Aims

The Partner Support Project works in partnership with the Men’s Counselling Programme at Everyman Project, to provide ongoing proactive support to (ex)partners of Everyman Project clients.

Pro-active contact

One of the criteria of men joining the Everyman Project Men’s Counselling Programme is that they give their partner and/ or ex-partner’s contact details at the assessment. Partner Support Project is given the partner/ex-partner’s details and a worker will proactively contact him or her to offer support.

Clients

Services will be offered to:

The partner (male or female) of any man who has attended an assessment at Everyman Project for the counselling programme for men who want to change their violent of abusive behaviour.
Any subsequent partner (male or female)
Any ex-partners (male or female) with whom the man has contact and who may be at risk.

Partner Support provides:

Emotional and practical support
Safety planning
Domestic violence awareness
Realistic expectations as to outcomes from and risks associated with participation in the Men’s Counselling Programme
Signposting to other services
Confidentiality

Partner Support provides ongoing support by:

Post
Telephone Support
Face-to-Face Counselling

1. Emotional and practical support

1.1 Partner Support service uses the Barriers Model (Grigsby and Hartman, 1997)^¹, which combines psychotherapy and domestic violence case management strategies. The model identifies the four barriers facing clients affected by domestic abuse as:

Environmental
Consequences and effects of the abuse
Socialisation, family and role expectations
Childhood trauma or neglect

1.2 Environmental barriers are the factors that prevent clients from accessing information about the support services and systems in place that might help him/her to be safe. These include money, the police, social service, the criminal justice system, religious and cultural guidance, mental health systems, homelessness, insecure immigration status and language barriers. Clients may have either no access or incorrect information about the support available, may have negative experiences from one or many of these agencies or may be fearful that they cannot or will not help. The perpetrator may be physically or psychologically preventing the client from getting support or information and giving misinformation, such as, ‘If you contact the police you’ll be deported’, ‘The social services will take your children away’ or ‘No-one will believe you’. Partner Support focuses primarily on environmental barriers in order to increase clients’ safety and sense of isolation enough that they can safely engage in the support available.

Psychological consequences of the violence or abuse such as physical or mental ill health, isolation, brainwashing, low self-esteem, compliance and post-traumatic stress disorder. There may be overlaps between this layer and the environmental barriers. By supporting clients to recognising the impact of the abuse Partner Support also aims to reduce minimisation, denial and self-blame. Partner support encourages clients to monitor the degree to which their partner has changed and helping clients to consider all their options in order to empower them to make their own decisions.

Family, socialization and role expectations include clients’ expectations of relationships, understanding of abuse, religious beliefs, values of the family of origin and the messages the client has developed about herself and her identity since childhood. Grigsby and Hartman (1997) explain that exploring these barriers the therapist is required to develop the therapeutic alliance and raise the client’s consciousness about these messages and the effects they are having on his/her current situation. They also suggest that the therapist should be encouraging the client to build up his/her support network and reduce the level of isolation.

Childhood trauma or neglect includes early messages about abuse and safety and psychological consequences. Grigsby and Hartman (1997) reframe the questions often asked about women in abusive relationships such as: ‘Why does she stay?’; ‘Why does she keep picking abusive men? Rather than asking these questions, which serve to pathologise and blame victims of abuse, they ask,

Is the interaction between old and current abuse so overwhelming that she is dissociating? Was the abuse so severe or perpetuated so many times by so many abusers that she knows nothing but abuse?; Is she so eroded by her old abuse experiences that she will risk her life for the small episodes of love and tenderness she receives from this mate?; and Was her childhood abuse so severe that it resulted in long-term mental health problems (e.g. depression, anxiety, or personality disorders) that have now created a second presenting problem and a serious barrier to her ability to escape?

The Partner Support Project recognises that the current abusive relationship is real, significant and having an effect on clients’ well-being and safety whilst acknowledging there may also be the need to explore clients’ reactions to abuse in terms of their own personal and individual histories and recognizing that early childhood experiences may be magnifying the effects of the current abuse and the current abuse may be triggering and injuring old wounds. The consequence may be that this prevents clients from staying safe from abuse.

1.6 Each client experiences the barriers to different degrees due to the unique nature of each client’s situation. The type of support and frequency of contact between the client and Partner Support Service also affects the level of therapeutic alliance that is possible in the work. Clients who are support by regular telephone or face-to-face counselling are more likely to be supported to explore all the barriers affecting them. Where support is time-limited or less frequent the main focus will be on the environmental barriers, the consequences of the abuse and safety planning from clients and any affected children.

2. Safety Planning

Female staff will provide the services offered by Partner Support. No staff member who works with Everyman Project Clients on the Men’s Counselling Programme will provide services for partners who have been subject to abuse.

Partner Support is a client-centred service, designed to fit around the specific needs of each individual client and any affected children. Partner Support staff will not be asked to undertake work that undermines trust, leads to a conflict of roles, or compromises client safety.

Partner Support makes every effort to ensure that services provided are safe and accessible to all clients by providing services:

in a safe environment in accordance with the client’s needs
at a time and venue where clients will not come into contact with their (ex)partners

Where there is more than one (ex)partner, Partner Support makes every effort to ensure that services are provided at a time and venue where a client will not come into contact with other clients associated with the same man (perpetrator).

Services to women will be available for at least 4 months after their (ex)partner has left the perpetrator programme. If at the end of this time the woman still has unmet needs, further work or appropriate referral to other services will be done.

Whether a client wants to stay in the relationship, consider ways of making the home safe or get away to a safe place Partner Support will encourage him or her to think about their emotional and physical safety.

All clients are encouraged to develop a personal safety plan as a way of protecting themselves and any children.

As part of safety planning clients are informed about their legal and statutory rights as well as encouraged to consider what options are available to them in case of a violent incident, if s/he chooses to leave a partner, to make the home safe.

3. Domestic Violence Awareness

Everyman Project and Partner Support Project aims to raise awareness regarding the nature and prevalence of domestic violence. Both services believe and advocate that:

Domestic violence includes the physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, verbal and/or financial abuse that takes place within an intimate or familial relationship in the form of controlling patterns of behaviour.
Domestic violence occurs across a range of relationships including heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender relationships, and also within extended families.
Domestic violence occurs across all sectors of society regardless of age, race, social class, disability or lifestyle.
The majority of the victims of domestic violence are women and children, and women are significantly more likely than men to experience repeated and severe forms of violence, and sexual abuse.
There are belief systems within society that both perpetuate abusive behaviour and also make it difficult for those experiencing abuse to get support.
There is no justification for domestic violence and the responsibility for the abuse is with the perpetrator.
The effects on those experiencing domestic violence, including children and other family members are often devastating and having regard to the two women a week who are killed through domestic violence, the effect are fatal. The damage to those affected by abuse includes low self-esteem, physical and mental ill health, physical injury, isolation from friends, family and support networks, loss of income, homelessness and death.

Clients are supported to identify abusive behaviours and to recognise when they are experiencing physical and/or emotional abuse.

4. Realistic expectations and risks associated with the Men’s Counselling Programme

Partner Support clients are provided with information which promotes realistic expectations regarding men’s likelihood of changing as a result of their attendance on the programme. Their partner’s attendance on the Men’s Counselling Programme may give false hope that he will change or that professionals can make him change. Often this is an unrealistic expectation, which might prevent clients from exploring other important options to increase their safety.

Partner Support clients are informed about ways that a man may use the Men’s Counselling Programme materials to further abuse his (ex)partner, for example:

To convince his (ex)partner to stay in the relationship and give false hope that he wants to change.
By using ‘time-outs’ as a form of threat or punishment.
By saying that his counsellor said he does not have a problem.
By saying that his counsellor or groups say it is his (ex)partner’s behaviour that is responsible or the abusive one.
To insist that his (ex)partner needs therapy or counselling either during or after his attendance on the programme.

By reducing physical abuse yet increasing other forms of controlling behaviour such as verbal, emotional and financial abuse.

5. Signposting

5.1 Where appropriate referring clients for specialist support such as legal advice and housing issues, drug or alcohol services and mental health services.

6. Confidentiality

Partner Support gives clients complete confidentiality in relation to the man who has abused them and services will ensure that men are never told whether their (ex) partner has had contact with the Partner Support service and that no information on the nature or content of any contact is divulged.

Partner Support explains to clients:

About their (ex) partner’s limited confidentiality and what information they may or may not have access to
About their own confidentiality

Partner support explains to clients that information may need to be shared with other organizations only when:

A client’s disclosure relates to the planning or conduct of an act of terrorism
A child is currently or about to be subjected to physical or sexual abuse
If the counsellor believes that the client may cause significant physical harm to self or others

6.4In such cases when information needs to be shared with third parties, clients are informed that Partner Support will always attempt to obtain permission from and discuss with the client the purpose of sharing such information.

Regarding information sharing, Partner Support Staff have a duty to use their own discretion and to consult with their supervisor or line-manager, in order to avoid further risk to the client, as there will be cases when sharing information may increase safety and other cases when sharing information may increase risk.
The Partner Support Project will pro-actively contact women as a matter of urgency if they have specific concerns for their or their children’s safety.

7. Postal Support

Unless Partner Support clients directly and specifically request otherwise, a Partner Support worker will contact them by post within two weeks of his or her (ex) partner’s first contact with Everyman Project Men’s Counselling Programme. In the initial contact letter, Partner Support clients will be informed about the Partner Support service and their partner/ex-partner’s status on the Men’s Counselling Programme. Partner Support clients are advised that a Partner Support worker will contact them by telephone within two weeks and give them the option to opt out from support or to advise the Partner Support service if it is not safe to contact him/her.

Partner Support clients are informed, by post within two weeks:

If his or her (ex) partner attends an assessment
If his or her (ex) partner is assessed as unsuitable for the programme
If his or her (ex) partner chooses not to start the programme
If his or her (ex) partner completes the programme
If his or her (ex) partner drops out of the programme
If his or her (ex) partner is suspended from the programme

8. Telephone Support

Partner Support clients will be proactively contacted by telephone within two weeks of each letter they receive. Attempts to telephone client will continue until contact is made, providing this is safe.

During telephone contact Partner Support clients are:

Informed about how they can access information about the programme and their (ex)partners’ attendance
Given details of the Everyman Project’s Partner Support Service and how to access these services
Asked whether they received and understand the postal information
Offered support by phone, post and/or in face to face counselling
Assessed regarding their practical and emotional needs
Assessed regarding any special needs (language, disability)
Informed about hat the service’s confidentiality policy
Given clear messages about violence and abuse and the rights of the Partner Support Client and any affected children
Given details of other specialist services, including crisis services, such as the Police

9. Counselling

9.1 Clients are offered face-to-face counselling for a minimum of 12 weeks:

For emotional and practical support
To explore the effects of the violence and abuse on themselves and any children
To consider safety planning for themselves and any children
To decrease isolation and increase support networks
To help clients to consider their options in order to empower them to make their own decisions

Partner Support offers a flexible service led by each client’s needs and is able to offer additional support to women who need it most in particular where there is high risk.

Partner Support counsellors maintain and adhere to the quality framework of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)

Partner Support counsellors are provided with fortnightly clinical supervision as part of their personal and professional development and to ensure a high standard and safe service is provided to clients.

1 GRIGSBY N & HARTMAN B R, 1997. The Barriers Model: An integrated strategy for intervention with battered women. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Pactice, Training. American Psychological Association. P.s 485-497. Vol. 34 (4).

HOW TO IDENTIFY SHARED OUTCOMES WITH PARTNERS
POWERPOINTPRÄSENTATION ZUM PROJEKT DES PROJEKTPARTNERS ICRA AUS
REGULAMIN BIURA STOWARZYSZENIA LGD – PARTNERSTWO IZERSKIE §1

Tags: everyman project, the everyman, partnersupporteverymanprojectcouk, support, partner, everyman, project