4-week support group course in CMA

In our support groups, we invite 4 people to a 4-week course. We meet once a week in Copenhagen, for 2 hours per walk. The group will be led by a group leader. We work based on peer to peer - also called mutual support methods. This means that our group leader leads the group through the person's own knowledge and experience with topics related to violence.

Mutual support methods, can be defined as a method whereby support comes from people with similar lived experience. The support is mediated though mirroring and recognition. Through empathy and active listening, we address feelings of isolation and loneliness.

Studies of peer support show, that the method can prevent depression, anxiety and loneliness. We believe that this is about experiencing an open-minded community and non-judgemental spaces, where the participants can share and open up to healing with other people. The participants tell us that throughout the four weeks, they experience a sense of community in particular way, which helps to re-establish trust and belonging in other social settings.

Fra individuel terapi til støtte i et fællesskab 

Har du lyst til at blive en del af et helende fællesskab? Center for Magtanalyse tilbyder specialiseret peer-support til mennesker, der søger viden om vold.

Vi ved at mange der har været udsat for vold finder det svært at tale med eksperter, fordi folk der ikke genkender oplevelser relateret til vold eller former for diskrimination kan komme til at fremmedgøre den udsattes oplevelser yderligere. Peer-support kan være med til at flytte heling væk fra terapirum og ud i det større samfund. I grupperne yder vi psykosocial støtte, tilbyder psykoedukation til specifikke voldsformer.

Vi opfatter vold som et samfundsanliggende og ikke et kun et personligt problem. Vi forstår at voldsforebyggelse må betragtes som en handling mellem person og samfund, og ikke mellem den udsatte og den udøvende. På den måde kan vi engagere større politiske tiltag og handlingsplaner, som ser vold mod personer som en belastning for samfundet og personen, og ikke alene som den enkeltes problem.

There is not much available knowledge about what escalation to violence looks like in a Danish context. Lack of knowledge can contribute to fear, reinforced and simplified stereotypes about who uses violence and who is exposed to violence. That is why we have set up therapy and discussion groups targeted at survivors and women who fear murder in the Exit circle's premises in Copenhagen.

The Center for Power Analysis will be responsible for knowledge gathering, including questionnaires and evaluations of the project.

The participants say that 6 months after ending the course, that they have gained new understandings of how violence has affected them and what to do for further healing. 6 months after the end of the course that the course has created an understanding of the significance of violence for their existence and further healing.