THE COURSES

All our courses ask you to consider how abuse happens and who is responsible, as well as exploring the social and cultural influences that may be operating. Effective inter-professional practice is promoted throughout all courses in order to maximise the safety of victims of domestic violence and prioritise the protection of their children.

One Day Courses

Understanding Domestic Violence

A basic course for professionals who come into contact with victims, survivors and perpetrators of domestic abuse, including children and young people.  The course explores the prevalence and process of abuse, including effects on victims and survivors, motivations of typical perpetrators, appropriate and safe responses and local and national resources.

Domestic Abuse:  Understanding Risk and Working with MARAC

A practical, informative workshop for practitioners working with families or individuals where there is domestic abuse.  The course covers  the legal obligations around risk, key risk factors, linking these to dangerousness, cultural and personal influences on assessing risk, how to assess risk using CAADA-DASH or other designated risk assessment tools, information-sharing, child protection issues, how to trigger the MARAC process, post -MARAC responsibilities and local and national processes and resources.

Sexual Abuse Seminar

This interactive seminar responds to the growing awareness of the impact of sexual violence on victims, their families, friends, and wider society.  The material explores links between domestic abuse, sexual abuse and child sexual abuse, and the wider cultural and historical perspectives.   Escalation and risk are considered, as are current responses and local and national resources.

Culture, Diversity and Domestic Abuse

Examines honour-based abuse, forced marriage and female genital mutilation with reference to the recent legislation and guidelines. 

Explores the compounding nature of domestic violence for those from Black, Minority and Ethnic communities and ways in which domestic violence can be bolstered by religion and culture. Examines organisational responsibilities regarding gender and diversity and looks at current legislation around immigration and citizenship. This course is suitable for any agency dealing with issues that may involve domestic violence, providing practical and safe ways to engage in this complex area of work.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Relationships and Domestic Abuse

An introduction to the specific issues for victims and perpetrators who are in LGBT relationships, including risk, obstacles to seeking help, appropriate responses and local and national resources. 

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Two Day Courses

Understanding Men Who Abuse

Designed for practitioners, who may, in the course of their work, encounter families where domestic abuse is occurring.  Enabling participants to develop an understanding of the typical beliefs, values and tactics of men who abuse their female partners using up-to-date research.  Developing skills with which to begin to engage with them without placing the victims and children at risk.  This is an in-depth programme; including the risks of sexual abuse of children; provides information and guidance about risk factors, risk assessment and risk management.

Talking to Men Who Abuse their Female Partners

A course for social workers and other frontline professionals, working with families in which domestic violence is occurring. Examines perpetrators’ tactics in depth to give an understanding of how these translate into risk for women and children, and provides techniques for individual work with perpetrators including motivational interviewing.

Domestic Abuse: Understanding, Assessing and Managing Risk (Advanced)

Responding to the pressing need for agencies and practitioners to implement and operate effective risk assessment for domestic abuse cases in conjunction with the MARAC process, this training is essential for practitioners working with families or individuals where there is domestic abuse.  Covers prevalence and process of abuse; tactics of typical perpetrators; impact on victims; understanding risk factors, how to assess risk; the MARAC process; managing high risk cases. 

Domestic Abuse : Responding to Domestic Abuse in Families – a Child-Centred Approach

Sea Change leaders in the field of Domestic Abuse presents this two day advanced programme.
The course is designed to extend and develop knowledge.  It is particularly relevant for professionals working directly with children and young people.  The training is designed to enable practitioners to develop a holistic approach to the family and the issue of domestic abuse,  and provide the skills to implement appropriate interventions with safety as the focus.
The course covers : Domestic abuse and the context of child protection legislations, How abusive relationships between parents affect the child’s development, How domestic abuse in the family may present to practitioners, Denial and how to manage it, The Cycle of Change: applying this to families experiencing domestic abuse, Pro-social Modelling , skills and techniques to motivate the family to engage with available services (CAF) and interventions to use with children and young people.

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Specialist and Accredited Training Programmes

Working with Men Who Abuse Their Female Partners

A 5-day programme to implement and deliver a programme for working with male heterosexual domestic violence offenders. The course is provided within a framework of consultancy and provides implementation plans. Course covers:

• Prioritising the safety of victims and children
• Multi-agency context as pre-requisite of running the programme
• Techniques for individual work with perpetrators prior, during and post group participation, especially the development of critical thinking and dealing with denial
• Exploration of theory, structure, and good practice in the implementation and delivery of group-work models
• Techniques for running groups, in particular key learning tools
• Assessing risk and information sharing
• Key messages concerning  working with the influence of culture, links with child sexual abuse, stalking and harassment

Accredited Training Programme ‘Appropriate Responses to Domestic Violence’

Our accredited training programme is designed to meet the needs of a wide range of professionals – those who deal exclusively with the consequences of domestic violence and abuse, and those who may encounter it as part of their roles and responsibilities. This training enables learners to acquire an extensive understanding of domestic violence and abuse and equips them with skills to deal with this issue.
The Open College Network is the accrediting body for the programme, and learning is at Level 3 (equivalent to ‘A’ level standard). Successful completion of the programme attracts 6 credits.
There are 2 units to the programme, both of which involve two days training, (4 days in total) and completion of written work. The units are designed to complement each other and cover the following:

• Statistics and facts
• Dynamics of violent relationships
• Culture, society and domestic violence
• Perpetrator’s tactics
• Impact on victims and children
• Diversity
• Risk factors and asking the question Remedies – including police responses and various routes for protection using the legal system
• Multi-agency partnership working
• The links between child abuse, child sexual abuse and domestic violence
• Contact and domestic violence – the risks and issues
• Domestic violence as a child protection issue
• Other agencies and their roles and responsibilities
• National and local initiatives and resources

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