Research

Historically, domestic violence programs were born from the women’s liberation movement of the 1970s to address the needs of female survivors, who still represent the majority of victims seeking services today. Generally, the domestic violence movement has framed its work on a gender binary with men as perpetrators and women as victims. We have come…

Trauma-informed peer support helps create a shared understanding of trauma experiences, the different ways people cope, give and receive support, and recover. It fosters healing relationships, which negate the power and control of traditional therapies. Download PDF

Male victims of family violence have always lacked the services and support available (many would say insufficiently available) to female victims. Thankfully more services and support are now available to men than were provided decades ago, however lack of services for male victims is still a significant problem that needs addressing. This article uses a…

A study to examine the association between the therapeutic relationship and the experience of client change as evidenced by changes observed by the therapist. The study focused on the real relationship component of the tripartite model, and mutual empathy and authenticity, elements of relational-cultural theory. A correlational study design was used to explore the relationship…

Although the experience of sexual abuse is quite common among men, particularly among those in clinical populations, relatively little research has been done specifically with male survivors and the impact of abuse in their lives. More specifically, the impact of sexual abuse on male survivors’ relationship dynamics has been underdeveloped in the research literature. Untapped…

This is the first population-based prevalence research exploring experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) among disabled people in Aotearoa New Zealand. The researchers also explored prevalence rates of non-partner violence among disabled people. Researchers from the University of Auckland used data from the 2019 New Zealand Family Violence Survey, which surveyed more than 2800 women and men. The…

A significant number of men in Australia are victim/survivors of child sexual abuse. While a growing number of services offer therapeutic support and counselling for men, the issue of men’s sexual victimisation has not become a public policy issue. It is suggested that conceptualising and responding to male sexual victimisation as a public health issue,…

An analysis of open-ended survey responses compares and contrasts perceptions on supervision from supervisors with experience providing direct peer support services (PS) and supervisors without experience providing direct peer support services (NPS). A 16-item online survey was distributed via the National Association of Peer Supporters (N.A.P.S.) listserv and through peer networks and peer run organizations.…

Studies on the use of peers in the mental health field have demonstrated that peer staff have an ability to reach people who have been otherwise seen as difficult to engage. In research conducted by PRCH, peer interventions have been associated with fewer hospitalizations, fewer days in the hospital, longer community tenure after hospitalization, increased…

A presentation of the findings of a study examining adult disclosures of childhood sexual abuse to child protection social work services in the Republic of Ireland. Limited literature indicates that adults can have negative experiences when disclosing childhood abuse; this is primarily owing to a lack of training, policy and guidance for practitioners, and legal…

When I was in the psychiatric unit, we, the patients, were the biggest support to each other. We helped each other out as the nurses sat behind the glass bubble. Guy, as sited in Bellamy et al. Many former patients or individuals with lived experience of mental illness might say that peer support individuals with…

Research has documented wide-ranging psychological impacts of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) for male survivors, but their experience of relationships is understudied. This qualitative review aimed to synthesize the qualitative literature concerning the experience of partner relationships for male CSA survivors. Electronic searches were conducted across PsycINFO, CINAHL, and PubMed, complemented by hand searches of references.…