Introduction to working with victims of domestic abuse

Length: Two-day event

In 2019, for the first time in history, the government appointed a Domestic Violence Commissioner and a revised version of the Domestic Violence Bill was made law in April last year. During the Covid-19 crisis, domestic abuse has escalated to unforeseen levels and services are continuing to struggle to meet the victims’ needs.

This two-day training will help both experienced and newly qualified practitioners to work with clients who are currently facing domestic abuse, or have faced it in the past.

What will the course include?

The first part of the course will:

• Give an overview of the legal framework of the new domestic abuse bill.
• Give a general context of the prevalence of domestic abuse in different groups.
• Raise awareness of safeguarding practices including referrals to MARAC.

The majority of the weekend will centre on providing a solid introduction to the Response Based Approach developed by Dr Allan Wade of the University of Victoria, Canada. During the training, we will explore how we can apply this model to our work in clinical practice, with individuals and in group therapy.

The course will combine presentations plus practical and analytical exercises which will help practitioners use the response-based approach to:

• Expose violence.
• Clarify perpetrators’ responsibility.
• Elucidate and honour victims’ resistance.
• Contest the blaming and pathologising of victims.

Martine Renoux (she/her) has been a psychotherapist and a trainer for over 30 years. She has worked with clients who were facing domestic abuse, or had faced it in the past, using the Response Based Approach for over 20 years. She has experience of working in private practice, women’s organisations and IAPT where she was Domestic Abuse Lead for nine years. She also has worked with perpetrators. She integrates other approaches in her work but keeps the Response Based Approach at the heart of her work.