Support Groups

Once you have contacted Women Aware for counseling, and after answering some initial questions about your current residence and family configuration, you will be given a recommendation for the services that best fit your needs. One of the recommendations may be to attend a support group.

A support group may be the first time you are in the company of other women who have experienced violence in their relationships, or it may help to strengthen a foundation of empowerment and freedom you have already begun to build.

Support groups are currently being offered for both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking women. The initial phase of the group is a 12-week orientation, which covers such topics as:

   •Relationships based on imbalance power and control and those based on equality
   •What is abusive behavior?
   •Gender roles and how they contribute to family violence
   •How poor self-esteem is created by being abused, not what causes being abused
   •Emotional blackmail
   •Signs of ongoing danger
   •Characteristics of a batterer
   •Forms of denial
   •How to be more assertive

Once completing the 12-week orientation group, you and a counselor will discuss your next steps, which may include participating in another 12-week cycle, entering the next phase of the support group, accepting a referral for further counseling, or “graduating.”

All of our services are free and confidential.