Russell House Publishing Ltd

There is abundant material for working with perpetrators and with children who have experienced domestic abuse. But resources for work with women who have suffered abuse are scarce. This manual provides practical assistance for anyone working with women to successfully facilitate a group-work programme to:

• support women who have experienced or are experiencing domestic abuse
  
• help them to break cycles of abuse and move on from damaging relationships
  

Written in language that is accessible to as many women as possible, it can be used by less experienced workers, including those without academic training, as well as by those who have undertaken this type of work before. They will still find it to be helpful.

It also provides sufficient background information on domestic abuse....it explains that there is still a long way to go in understanding and addressing its complexities; that workers may come across behaviour that they would dislike and not tolerate in their own relationships, but that this may not necessarily be abusive; that children can be deeply emotionally affected by witnessing domestic abuse.

It's principal focus reflects the author' very extensive experience. It sets our how domestic abuse impacts on women. It enables facilitators of all levels of experience to be sensitive and effective when working with women....women who have experience of some or all of the wide spectrum of abusive behaviour.

The manual will help you to help women to learn that domestic abuse is not just about physical violence; that it involves the absence of some or all of what is normally considered necessary in healthy relationships. Part of the aim for women involved in the group-work that this manual helps facilitate is to understand the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships; and develop an understanding of the kind of relationship they want and deserve.

Anyone undertaking work of this kind should make sure that they too have help and support to protect and value themselves, in what can be very demanding situations. But this manual can help you set up a comprehensive, sensitive and very rewarding programme that:

• deals with the impact of domestic abuse and challenges readers to begin to understand how it feels to be a victim
  
• provides practical advice and exercises for use in running a group programme
  
• includes photocopiable hand out sheets for use in these exercises. Anyone who registers their purchase with RHP can obtain the photocopieable exercises in PDF format at no extra charge