Men’s Batterer Intervention Program (BIP)

Time: Every Wednesday either from 1:00pm-2:30pm or 5:30pm-7:00pm

The Men’s Batterer Intervention Program (BIP) at Family Counseling and Shelter Services of Monroe County is modeled after the Duluth Model of Power and Control. Those who use power and control to dominate or batter a member of their household will benefit most from this group. The model is geared towards Interpersonal Relationships, and a person’s need to control another person.

If a man has enacted a domestic assault and is dominating his partner or a close household family member through the use of coercion and threats, intimidation, emotional abuse, isolation, minimizing, denying and blaming, use of children, male privilege or economic abuse he is an appropriate fit for this class.

Women’s Batterer Intervention Program (BIP)

Time: Every Tuesday from 3:30pm-5:00pm

It is understood that some women who are survivors – regardless of sexual orientation, racial, or
economic background – resort to using force in their intimate relationships.  Women who use
force differ significantly from men who use of force in terms of motivation, intent, and impact. 

Generally, women resort to force in an effort to grasp short-term control of abusive or
coercively controlling relationship dynamics.  In contrast, men who batter women use
coercively controlling tactics as a pattern to establish long-term relationship dominance. 

The goals of this class are to provide women who have used force in their intimate relationships
the opportunity to plan for their safety, address feelings of shame and or guilt related to their
use of force, encourage appropriate levels of responsibility for having used force, and raise
awareness of viable alternatives to using force.

Parenting Class

Time: Every Monday night from 6:00pm-7:00pm

The parenting program provides parenting skills that will help parents build a positive foundation and relationship with their child and teach the children responsibility. This program does not address the basics of parenting, such as feeding, bathing, and clothing your children, but instead focuses on building the relationship by developing mutual respect, being aware of, and responsible for our behavior, feelings, and emotions and how they affect our parenting, giving the child encouragement, encouraging the child to contribute, and helping the child move from dependence to independence.

We also discuss rules and routines, setting limits, consistency, using time-outs (for both the child and the adult) and logical consequences. We also learn that it is important to have fun with our kids!

Other topics include the importance of the first three years of a child’s life and some basic brain development, domestic violence and how this affects our parenting and our children, the effects on children of parental substance use and abuse, anger, temper tantrums, stress, and self-care.

S.M.I.L.E. (Start Making It Livable for Everyone)

Time: Tuesday evenings

S.M.I.L.E. is an educational program for separating/divorcing parents with minor
children. When divorce happens, many people feel alone and wonder how
anyone else lived through it. This class helps those having difficulties with time
sharing, parenting roles, and other divorce-related issues. It also provides
information about the effects of divorce and what parents can do to make the
divorce situation livable for themselves and their children.

Topics covered will include:

• The grief process
• How divorce effects children and parents
• Developmental reactions to divorce
• Helping children adjust to divorce

Visitations are referred to our agency through the court or DHHS. They provide the opportunity for
a non-custodial parent to spend time with their children in a playroom at our main office. These
visits are monitored in their entirety to ensure the safety of both parents/guardians and
children.

Nurturing Healthy Self-Esteem

Time: Every Monday from 2:00pm-3:30pm (8 week sessions)

This is a women’s only group for developing and nurturing healthy self-esteem to
increase happiness, build confidence, and increase life enjoyment.

This group is for women who:

• Have anxiety and worry about how others see them
• Feel stuck in an unfulfilling pattern in their daily lives
• Tend to avoid things out of fear of failure or the judgement of others
• Often think negatively about themselves or feel “not good enough”

Women’s Domestic Violence Support Group

Time: Every Wednesday at 2:00pm

This group provides a supportive environment to learn healthy coping skills while
building self-esteem through empowerment. It is open to women who have
experienced any form of domestic abuse in the past or present, and it is free and
confidential.

Advocacy, referrals to counseling, and emergency housing referrals
are provided.

Women’s Sexual Assault Support Group (SASS)

Time: Every other Thursday from 6:00pm-7:30pm

This is a free and confidential support group for women survivors of past or
present sexual assault. This group offers advocacy and the opportunity to connect
with other survivors while learning healthy coping skills.