Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

["MacDonald, Shawn V" <>]

I run a group and we have a small campus (2000 students).  I was able to
develop the group from my caseload and took a semester to build it
before we began.  It has been going for two semesters now.  I think that
the important things in getting this group going were a campus
environment where sexual assault is an issues that is discussed, the
therapist who leads the group building relationships with the
constituency both in counseling and through connections on campus, and
the counseling center being seen as a trustworthy place by the students.
Once the students are in the group, it just needs good group leadership.
I do this as a process group and work from feminist principles.  Our
students are all undergraduates.  Since we are a liberal arts college
and the students are accustomed to discussions in small classes, we
don't have a problem with getting them talking.

E-mail is not a secure form of communication.  The confidentiality of
this e-mail cannot be guaranteed.
 
Shawn MacDonald, Ph. D.
Assistant Director of Counseling Services/Staff Counselor
St. Mary's College of Maryland
St. Mary's City, MD 20686

Phone:  (240) 895-4289
Fax:  (240) 895-4937

-----Original Message-----
From: 

[mailto:]
 On Behalf Of Nancy Harris
Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 4:23 PM
To: 

Cc: Jennifer Leib
Subject: Others' experiences with sexual assault recovery groups

Greetings!
We would like some feedback from other schools about their experiences 
with sexual assault recovery groups. We have had one for many years 
through our Mental Health Service. But we have always had trouble 
recruiting members. Their sense of shame and self-blame is so high. 
Also, with the few we can recruit, they seem exceptionally quiet, 
passive, reticent to talk, though all say the group is helpful to them. 
Any words of wisdom about either recruiting members, or about the groups

themselves would be helpful. For example, do structured groups work 
better? Are we simply seeing a phase of the recovery process? You can 
write to the list, or if it's more comfortable, write to me directly.

Thanks a lot for your help.

-- 
Nancy Harris, LCSW-C
Associate Director
Mental Health Service
University Health Center
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
(301) 314-8106
(301) 314-1390 FAX

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