Amanecer’s domestic violence program, The First Step Forward, offers individual, family and group therapy, intensive case management, parenting and life skills training, and access to employment, education, and job-training resources to individuals who have been traumatized by abuse in the home.
We help victims acquire the skills, self-esteem, and confidence they need to build a life that is self-sufficient and abuse-free. Our goal is to transform victims into survivors.
Seeking Safety
We predominantly rely on the Evidence-Based Practice, Seeking Safety, in treating victims of domestic abuse. Seeking Safety is a present-focused, coping skills therapeutic approach that emphasizes stabilization, avoiding self-destructive behaviors, and establishing safe coping behaviors. The practice focuses on four domains: cognitive – understanding the effects of trauma; behavioral – coping with triggers, managing emotions and impulses; interpersonal – setting boundaries in relationships; and case management – being prepared, choosing safety.
Intensive Case Management
It is of vital importance that clients feel safe and secure in the rest of their lives if mental health care is going to benefit them. As a result, we take great pains to stabilize their life domain issues either by direct service, i.e., helping with a down payment for an apartment or by connecting them with necessary social services such as employment resources, educational resources, food resources, legal resources to help with custody and divorce proceedings, and medical care for themselves and their children.
Peer Support Groups
We offer peer support groups to help victims feel less alone and share their stories with individuals of similar backgrounds. The groups are offered in both Spanish and English to make sure that everyone, no matter their native language, can participate. They meet weekly.
Child Care
The child in an abusive relationship are affected too. Amanecer makes sure that the children receive an assessment and are referred to our children’s clinic if they require further levels of care. We also provide child care for parents while they are in therapy and groups.
