Hands are not for Hurting

‘Hands are not for Hurting’ is a 12 week group treatment programme for women and their children who have experienced domestic abuse.

Through group treatment, which includes support from their mothers, children can begin to resolve the trauma that they have experienced.

They do this through telling their experiences and receiving validation by adults and peers they can trust. The aim of the programme is to create a safe space for children and provide them with the opportunity to disclose, process and understand the violence and abuse that they have witnessed.

Children’s programme

The programme helps build a child’s self esteem by focusing on helping them deal with their emotions relating to the abuse and understand that what happened was not their fault. We do this by using a variety of resources. The key concept is for children to have their experiences validated and explore a variety of issues. Including: responsibility, positive problem solving, dealing with conflict, understanding feelings and safety planning.

Mother’s programme

This runs one session ahead of the children’s. The aim is to provide a safe and supportive environment to help prepare mothers for issues raised in the children’s group and help them understand their child’s behaviour better (relating to their experiences of abuse), gain confidence to support their children and strengthen the relationships between mother and child. We empower women by giving them the strength, tools and skills to support their children through the journey to recovery.