Sue Penna Associates is a network of professionals working with domestic abuse / violence, and mental health issues.

We offer a first class training, research, evaluation and development service to organisations working with individuals and families affected by these issues.

We are committed to involvement in projects that will enable us to utilise our expertise to make a difference to people's lives.

Current courses will be posted on this page as they become avaliable, please contact us for information about fees for bespoke courses.

Latest course

Recovery Toolkit Facilitators Training

23rd & 24th March 2010      --     Cardiff

13th & 14th April 2010         --     Leeds

5th & 6th May 2010               --     London

7th & 8th July 2010               --     Cornwall

The Recovery Toolkit has been written to assist any individual or agency working with women who have experienced domestic abuse/violence and are in a position to take part in a group (not living with the perpetrator or perpetrator on a recognised perpetrator programme) designed to assist each of them in looking at ways to develop positive lifestyle coping strategies.

Living with domestic abuse/violence forces women to develop coping strategies that keep them and their family safe within the context of unequal power divides and extremely controlling behaviour by the perpetrator.

Women who have experienced and lived with domestic abuse frequently tell support agencies that the hardest part of recovery is to deal with the psychological distress caused by such abuse. The psychological distress affects how a woman perceives herself (self-esteem, self-image), how she interacts with others (passively or angrily), how she copes with the emotional pain (depression, anxiety, alcohol or drug use), how she uses her parenting skills; it can also leave her with confusion about issues of trust, boundaries and respectful relationships (both with adults and with children).

Any individual experiencing the isolation, exhaustion, humiliation, degradation and threats that are part of the abusive behaviour would encounter these difficulties. The aim of the group is not to hold the woman responsible for what happened to her, or blame her for those actions or decisions taken at the time of the abuse that may in retrospect be found not to have been safe. Rather the purpose of the group is to recognize the tremendous effort the woman has made in keeping her and her family as safe as possible, while helping her to acknowledge that coping strategies used under duress may not be helpful in her recovery and development of a new life free of abuse.

This programme runs for 12 weeks (or 24 weeks)   and also carries NOCN accreditation enabling the women participants to gain a Level 1 in Developing personal confidence and self awareness.

Sessions cover, What is abuse, Introduction to self esteem, Self esteem, coping and the consequences on our psychological wellbeing, the affects of abuse on children and on parenting skills, self esteem and affirmations and the power of positive self talk, anger and conflict and assertiveness, boundaries and trust, making mistakes, setting goals, healthy relationships.