Nonviolent Alternatives Referral Schedule in Ms Word Format
http://www.nonviolentalternatives.com/schedule.doc

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Guidelines for Referral

In my past experience of conducting this program there has been confusion about "Who is appropriate for referral?" So I thought I would take a few minutes and write up some general considerations. Our classes are specifically designed to conduct intervention for abusive and/or  violent behavior. Anger is a feeling, abuse and violence are behaviors.  Some examples of indicators are; bad temper, physical violence, verbal-emotional-mental-sexual abuse, fighting, intimidation, child abuse, rigid "dictator" attitude, stalking, violating restraining orders, substance abuse, verbally assaulting probation officers and/or police officers.

Drinking and/or drug use does not excuse violence. A person should not be relieved from being required to attend our program just because they attended a substance abuse program or are attending AA. Though our program is often helpful in addressing substance abuse denial, if substance abuse intervention is warranted due to chronic chemical dependency and/or increased tolerance, it should be completed successfully prior to enrolling with Nonviolent Alternatives.

Another excellent indication that referral to our program may be appropriate is to be aware of how you feel in the persons presence. If you feel "uneasy" or "afraid" then you can be assured that others feel that way too, especially their kids or their spouse. Some of my best success in conducting intervention has been when the client began to notice that their kids would disappear when they came home from work and were not in a good mood.

Abusive individuals develop a system of "Denial" which I call "shifting the blame", a mental belief system an abusive person uses to shift accountability for his/her abuse away from himself/herself. Thus the abusive person avoids holding himself/herself internally accountable (feeling guilty) for his/her own behavior. Often an abusive person will say things such as, "I couldn't help it, I was drunk.", "Look what they did to me.", or "I got thrown in jail because they (the victim) started a fight then called the police.".

The key to effective intervention is a program designed to teach the abusive person to be self-accountable for all of his/her power and control behaviors and "shifting the blame". Abuse and violence should be viewed as an intentional act used to gain power and control over another person. Physical abuse is only one part of a whole system of abusive behavior that an abuser uses against others. Please refer only to programs that specifically use the terminology "power and control".

Punishment and jail time alone will not relieve the need for a our program. When an abuser encounters only legal consequences for his/her behavior, and their "shifting the blame" belief system, goes unchallenged, they will simply view theirself as a victim of an unjust system and will carry these abusive patterns to future relationships.

Avoid referring to Anger Control or Anger Management model programs. (Here is a link to an article published in the Maine Bar Journal in the summer of 2006 explaining the difference.) They fall short because they do not challenge directly "shifting the blame" belief systems held by abusive individuals to justify their violent behavior choices. Remember, anger is a feeling, abuse and violence are behaviors. Furthermore, most of these programs do not comply with the Standards for Batterer Intervention Programs published in January 2002 by the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. ICADV maintains a website listing certified programs at http://www.violenceresource.org/bipcertprog.htm.

Policies and Procedures

Below are portions of our Policy and Procedure Manual.  These are placed online as they relate to topics we are frequently questioned about.

• Policy on Attendance Requirements
• Policy on Discharge from Program
• Policy on Disruptive Behavior in Class
• Policy on Fees for Indigent Clients
• Policy on Handling Non-payment of Fees
• Policy on Program Re-entry after Unsuccessful Discharge
• Policy on Reporting Progress

Below are downloads of some of the forms we use in our program:

• Enrollment Agreement
• Second Chance Agreement
• Questionaire for Lower Fees
• Reduced Fee Enrollment Agreement Addendum
• DCS Client Enrollment Agreement Addendum

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