Resources

This Guide is a supplement to the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs' (WCSAP) general guide to psychoeducational support groups, Circle of Hope. Circle of Hope provides information about the nature of psychoeducational groups and how they differ from self-help and therapy groups. In addition, there is general…

This webinar will be focused on techniques and suggestions for building in community and participant retention. Psycho-educational support groups create a community in which members offer and receive support, validation, connection, healing and hope. Community requires commitment and connection, but maintaining group attendance after the first couple of weeks can be a challenge.

How frustrating is it to start out with a group of 10 committed group members and watch the number dwindle…

Foshee, V. et all (2012). Journal of Adolescent Health.

Often when we think about teen dating abuse prevention programs, we think of programs delivered in a school setting. Moreover, we may even think specifically of the curriculum Safe Dates, as it is one of the only evidence-based teen dating abuse prevention curricula. However, the Families for Safe Dates program combined components of the Safe Dates curriculum with additional activities and presents them in a very new format: at…

Trauma can profoundly affect children's development. In an article highlighted on the website Zero to Three (National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families), Dr. Theodore Gaensbauer discusses the "Developmental and Therapeutic Aspects of Treating Infants and Toddlers Who Have Witnessed Violence." Dr. Gaensbauer's framework for understanding how trauma affects children has even wider significance, applying to older children and to those affected…

Statistics can help people who are not familiar with an issue to understand it better. In the case of statistics about sexual violence, they can help community members, allied professional partners, and funders understand

1. how big the problem is,
2. how sexual violence impacts society as a whole rather than just individuals and families,
3. and why sexual assault advocates are necessary.

It is important to use statistics correctly…

Sometimes we use a myths/facts approach in community education. Is it useful? Not really.

Take this example from a flyer from the Centers for Disease Control.

Myth:

The flu shot can cause the flu.

Fact:

The flu shot cannot cause the flu. Some people get a little soreness or redness where they get the shot.

Researchers read the flyer to people, and got some surprising results. Within 30 minutes, older people remembered about a…

Prevention requires building lasting, meaningful relationships with your community. The below list, taken from Community Building: What Makes It Work, describes some of the key skills required in facilitators.

Understanding the Community

Successful community building efforts tend to have organizers who have a thorough understanding of the culture, social structure, demographics, political structure, and issues in the community.

Sincerity…

Tell a prevention story.

We are trying to prevent a social problem: sexual violence is epidemic. Since we are tackling such a large issue, our efforts can draw disagreements or resistance. It is easy to fall into the argument trap, and try to fight fire with fire. After all, if they only understood, how could they possibly disagree?

Statistics are a natural thing to reach for when justifying arguments or preparing presentations. For you and me, statistics might tell a rich…

Sitting through a presentation or training can be difficult, but every now and then there is one that just works. You are excited, engaged, and alert! You care! You want to be there!

What separates the wheat from the chaff? What made that training matter to you? If it mattered to others in the room as well, it is very likely the trainer's methods were informed by understanding adult learning styles.

Adults have specific needs around learning. We want to know what is in it for…

When you have a staff member who has a negative attitude and doesn't really seem to care about the work, the first thing that comes to mind is "burnout." However, it is important to distinguish whether the attitude and behavior is a result of vicarious trauma — the changes in a person's inner experience that come about because of handling an overload of other people's traumatic experiences — or burnout, which is dissatisfaction with the job itself. In either case, it is important to assess…