Groups

SDAS staff, assisted by some of our volunteers, run a rolling programme of group education courses throughout the year. 

Not all the courses below will therefore be available.  Some of these group courses are delivered face-to-face, others are delivered online.

Freedom Programme 

This 12 week programme aims to help victims & survivors to identify different types of abuse and recognise behavioural tactics used by abusers. It also helps victims & survivors to understand how they are affected by the different tactics and learn to recognise early warning signs. Participants will end the programme also being able to recognise the behaviour of non-abusive partners.

Recovery Toolkit

This 12 week programme is offered to survivors of domestic abuse once they are ready to move forward with their lives. The programme recognises that survivors say the hardest part of recovery is to deal with the psychological distress caused by the abuse. Participants are encouraged to recognise how they have coped with this distress and learn to improve their psychological well being by developing positive lifestyle coping strategies, set positive and healthy boundaries and rebuild self esteem and confidence. 

What is abuse?

• Self-esteem, coping and the consequences of toxic stress
• The effects of abuse on children and on parenting skills
• Self-esteem and affirmations and the power of positive self-talk
• Anger, conflict and assertiveness
• Boundaries and trust
• Losses and gains
• Setting goals
• Healthy relationships

Hope2Recovery

The Hope2Recovery Programme is a 6 week programme for any adult that is experiencing / or has experienced domestic abuse and is their first step towards Recovery..

The programme follows the principles of a trauma informed approach to enable participants to understand the dynamics of domestic abuse, why they have coped the way they have and how their parenting has been affected.

Aims of the Hope2Recovery Programme

The overall aims of the programme are for participants  to develop sufficient, safety, trust and motivation, so they:

• Develop an understanding of the tactics perpetrators of domestic abuse and coercive control use
• Develop a better understanding of the difference between healthy / unhealthy and abusive relationships.
• Develop a better understanding of their parenting role and the challenge of being a nurturing parent while in an abusive relationship
• Consolidate this learning to enable future life plans to be based on the safety of themselves and their children

Me, My Children and Domestic Violence

This 12-week programme is delivered by staff from the Parenting Team (not SDAS). It aims to help victims & survivors to understand how living with domestic abuse may feel for their children. It helps them to recognise how children may have been affected by domestic abuse and how to support their children to cope with their experiences. Participants will end the programme with strategies in place for rebuilding or reinforcing a healthy relationship with their children.

Power To Change

This 12 week programme aims to help victims & survivors understand the impact the abuse has had on their confidence and self-esteem. It helps them consider healthy boundaries and begin to deal with the emotional impact of domestic abuse. Participants will end the programme being able to practise assertiveness skills and be able to process positively feelings of guilt, fear and anger.

Survivors of Domestic Abuse (SODA)

Shropshire Domestic Abuse Service also facilitate some social chat groups for adults of any gender who have been, or are currently being, subjected to domestic abuse.  These SODA groups are hosted by a trained SDAS staff member, experienced in trauma-informed recovery.  These SODA groups provide a chance for informal, non-judgemental conversation, designed by survivors for survivors, to “help each other move on”, as well as embed any learning from the main service (e.g. from courses or 1-2-1s with support workers) into day-to-day life. 

Each month, we run four “walk & talk” SODA groups.  These are face-to-face meet ups for friendship and mutual support [set locations in South, Central, North West and North East Shropshire].  Meeting at 10am on Thursday mornings, finishing at 12 noon.  We also run two weekly online drop-in SODA groups, meeting on Wednesday evenings (8-9pm) and Thursday daytimes (1-2pm), using a closed video conferencing platform. In addition, we offer all SODA “members” informal and occasional text support check-ins.

To refer a client:

• Use the online form
• Email refuge@connexus-group.co.uk
• Call 0300 303 1191