Katz, E. (2015) 'Recovery-Promoters: Ways that Practitioners can Support Children and Mothers to...

D r E m m a K a t z

L e c t u r e r i n C h i l d h o o d a n d Y o u t h

k a t z e @ h o p e . a c . u k

P r e s e n t a t i o n t o t h e

E u r o p e a n C o n f e r e n c e o n D o m e s t i c V i o l e n c e

Q u e e n ’ s U n i v e r s i t y B e l f a s t

7 . 9 . 1 5

Recovery-Promoters: Ways that Practitioners can Support Children and Mothers to

Promote Each Other‟s Recoveries from Domestic Violence and Abuse

Introducing the study

What? An in-depth, exploratory study of supportiveness

between mothers and children in domestic violence

contexts

Why? To enrich understandings of how mothers and

children experience, resist and recover from domestic

violence

Dr Emma Katz [email protected]


Based on my ESRC funded PhD at Univ. Nottingham

(Katz, 2015b)

Received ethical approval from Univ. Nottingham

Assisted by organisations such as Women‟s Aid



Interviewed 15 mothers and 15 children (total: 30)

Children‟s ages ranged from 10 to 20

Interviewed 9 girls, 6 boys

12/15 perpetrators were the children‟s father

Average time since they

separated from the perpetrator:

5 years (see Katz 2015b)


Approach

What is recovery?

Drawing on the CHIME framework, recovery was

conceptualised as involving: „connectedness, hope

and optimism about the future, identity, meaning in

life, and empowerment‟ (Leamy et al., 2011, p. 448)


Approach

How might recoveries be advanced by mutually supportive

mother-child relationships?

Conceptualising children and mothers as active, agentic and able

to help empower each other

„Although power has to be constructed by people themselves,

practitioners can facilitate this process… [practitioners] can play

a key role in enabling people to identify

and develop their strengths and abilities‟

(Tew et al., 2012, p. 447)


Approach

An innovative approach because:

Research/social work on domestic violence has been criticised for focusing on

abused mothers‟ failures and deficits

(Johnson and Sullivan, 2008; Lapierre, 2008; Semaan et al., 2013; Callaghan,

2015)

Also critiqued for:

- seeing children as passive victims

- ignoring their agency

- Ignoring their wish to help their abused mothers

(Mullender et al., 2002; Overlien and Hyden, 2009; Katz, 2015; Houghton,

2015; Callaghan and Alexander, 2015)


Why recovery is important

For the study‟s participants, recovery significantly reduced the

long-term economic, social and personal costs of domestic

violence

Recovery produced:

- (a) mothers in good mental health, who were able to be in

employment and had strong parenting skills

- (b) children with good behaviour and emotional regulation skills,

who were engaging positively with the world around them



Findings

Post-separation recovery stages

Stages Role of practitioners

1 Creating the conditions required

for recovery: more safety and

less abuse

Help mothers and children to achieve

safety from perpetrators/fathers and to

have a home where they feel secure and

enough money to live on

2 Beginning to recover: mothers,

children and mother-child

relationships

Help mothers, children and mother-

child relationships to begin taking

significant steps towards recovery from

the harms caused by the DV

3 Becoming recovery-promoters:

mothers and children promoting

each other’s recoveries

Help mothers and children to develop

the skills to support each other to

continue recovering and boosting each

other’s well-being in the long-term.

Acknowledging and praising mothers’

and children’s strengths and skills.

Reinforcing their identities as persons

who can have a positive impact on those

around them. Dr Emma Katz [email protected]

1: Creating the conditions required for recovery

1. Safety from the perpetrator/father and a large

reduction in exposure to his abuse

2. An end to the perpetrator distressing the children

through abusive parenting and undermining the

mother-child relationship

3. To have a place to live where the mother and children

feel secure and settled and have enough money to

live on


1: Why create the conditions required for recovery?

„It was hard because I felt weak and I was very emotional [due to the

perpetrators‟ threats]… so I still found it hard communicating with my

kids and having that family relationship‟ (Kimberley, mother)

„We used to go to our dad‟s every weekend [contact having been court-

ordered]. He‟d say: „oh your mum makes me cry; your mum makes me

do this stuff‟… He blamed her and us for everything [After a weekend at

Dad‟s] my sister Zoe would be off school most Mondays because she felt

so ill. She‟d be on the sofa being held by Mum and crying‟ (Grace, 14)


Stage 1: The role of practitioners

Creating the initial conditions required for children‟s and mothers‟

recovery could be usefully placed as a central goal of practitioners

and services

At present, the accounts of the mothers and children studied here

and across the field of DV research suggest that the opposite often

happens

Systems, and sometimes individual practitioners, often create

conditions that stifle and block recovery and allow abuse and stress

to continue to dominate mothers‟ and children‟s lives (e.g. Thiara

and Gill, 2011)


Stage 2: Beginning to recover

Once basic conditions for recovery were established,

many mothers and children gained the emotional

capacity to begin to alleviate the strains that had

built up in their mother-child relationships during

the domestic violence (Humphreys et al., 2011)


2: Beginning to recover

Children need:

Help to understand what happened between their

parents and to understand that it wasn‟t their fault

or their mother‟s fault

Support to deal with any behavioural problems

they have developed (withdrawn behaviours, aggressive behaviours)

Mums need:

Help to rebuild their mental health

Parenting confidence

Support to deal with feelings of guilt about their children‟s experiences

Mums and children need:

Support to talk to each other constructively about the domestic violence

and develop positive ways of relating to each other


2: The role of practitioners

The families in the study had a variety of sources of

support that helped them to progress in their recoveries

Many had engaged with formal supports including:

Ontario-based programmes (McManus et al., 2013;

Nolas et al., 2012; Sharp et al., 2011), social workers,

Women‟s Aid outreach workers, refuge workers and

counsellors


2: Help to understand their experiences

„I used to say sometimes years ago that I wanted to go and live with

my dad… I stopped seeing him a couple of years ago… I‟m a lot closer

to my mum now… I‟ve spoken to two counsellors. One gave me these

exercises to help me see what Dad was doing and how people around

me were trying to help me. That helped my confidence. It made me to

realise that I could talk to people‟ (Grace, 14)


2: Help for children to deal with emotional impacts

„Shannon used to say to me “It‟s your fault, why did you have him

back?” but now she knows that‟s it‟s not my fault and that‟s

because of the education thing that she‟s been through with the

NSPCC helping her to understand‟ (Ellie, mother)

„The kids saw a Women‟s Aid worker, she went into their school

and worked with them on ways of dealing with their emotions and

the kind of temper flare-ups they were having… They‟ve really

calmed down now, we still argue but they‟re like different kids

compared to how it was‟ (Bella, mother)


2: Help for mums to reduce guilt

„[After doing the NSPCC programme] I do still feel guilty, and know that I

shouldn‟t, but I do, but nothing in comparison to how it crippled me before.

So I‟m able to answer painful questions that my daughter puts to me,

because I have to, I need to. It‟s not easy but I think that if you can get that

honesty with each other, between mums and their kids, then it does bring

them closer together‟ (Ellie, mother)


2: When supports don‟t happen

The families in the study who had not received supports were

inhibited in their recoveries, and continuing to suffer negative

impacts many years after separating from perpetrators/fathers:

„I have flashbacks like Post-Traumatic Stress, and I feel so bad

that I allowed that man to put our child through what he did…

I think if I didn‟t still have my Depression then [my son] John

and I would have moved on a lot

further‟ (Eloise, mother)


2: The roles of practitioners

Participants reported valuing the supports that they had

received from practitioners to begin recovering as individuals

and strengthening their mother-child relationships

Depending on their role, practitioners may engage in this

work themselves (e.g. by providing mental health support to

mothers, or by helping children to gain healthy

understandings of domestic violence), or they may refer

families to a specialist service such as an Ontario-based

programme


3: Promoting each other‟s recoveries

Recovery was not achieved through formal supports alone

Mothers and children described helping each other to

recover in many different ways as part of their everyday

lives and interactions with one another (Katz, in press)


3: Reassurance

Mothers and children often reassured each other that they

should not hold themselves responsible for the domestic

violence:

- „A long time ago, I used to think that my parents‟ divorce

was my fault; my mum told me that it wasn‟t‟ (Grace, 14)

- „Sometimes she‟d say she felt like a bad mum because she

moved us away from our dad and I‟d tell her she shouldn‟t

feel guilty‟ (Grace, 14)


3: Mood-lifting and overcoming negative impacts

Mothers tended to give their children longer-term support to overcome

negative impacts:

- „I just keep trying to reinforce it all the time: „we don‟t hit, we don‟t

kick, we don‟t call names; that‟s wrong‟, and I just try and encourage all

the kind behaviour that you want‟ (Marie, mother)

Children tended to focus on lifting their mother‟s mood in the short-term:

- „I‟d buy her creams to make her more relaxed, and face masks for me

and my mum to do, and I think that used to help her a bit‟ (Katie, 12)


3: Rebuilding confidence

Mothers -

Told their children how much they loved them

Praised their achievements

Arranged for their involvement in confidence-building hobbies and

activities such as dancing lessons or team sports:

- „I‟ve started [my son] with rugby to try and build his confidence. It

must be a thing that‟s in my head: make sure they‟re confident‟ (Lucy,

mother)



Children built their mothers‟ confidence by praising their

engagement with the outside world:

- „Shannon always says she thinks I‟m brave… and she‟s so

proud of me for going to court, and she‟s so proud of me

for…my volunteer work, and she obviously thinks I‟m a very

important person… it‟s just lovely‟ (Ellie, mother)



Children also praised their mother‟s mothering:

- „[Smiling] Jack‟s said lots of helpful things – how wonderful

I am, [and] “you‟re a great mum”. He didn‟t say them

before. He says he knows how lucky he is‟ (Sybil, mother)


3: The importance of practitioner supports

It was frequently (though not always) necessary for mothers

and children to receive practitioners supports in order to play

these positive roles in one another‟s lives

These supports helped them to: (1) create the conditions

necessary for recovery (e.g. more safety and less abuse), and

(2) begin to recover as individuals and repair and strengthen

their mother-child relationships

Effective practitioner supports in these areas increased

mothers‟ and children‟s capacities to help each other to

recover further


3: Roles of practitioners

It could therefore be helpful for practitioners to build mothers‟ and children‟s

skills in assisting each other to recover and praise their efforts in this area

For instance, practitioners can encourage and support mothers and children to

identify techniques for increasing each other‟s confidence. They can also praise

the techniques that mothers and children go on to use, or were already using pre-

intervention, providing acknowledgment of mothers‟ and children‟s skills and

strengths

Interestingly, no mothers or children had received any external recognition or

praise for the (often substantial and effective) supports they had given each other

Interviews were usually the first time that they had thought/spoke about how they

supported each other (- “I never realised how much I‟d done”)


Conclusion

Conceptualising mothers and children as potential/active recovery

promoters for each other is a positive and innovative approach because it is

based on the recognition and development of mothers‟ and children‟s

possible/actual capacities

As Tew et al. suggest, it is helpful to recovery to „situate [mothers and

children] as persons with abilities‟, and to support those attempting to

recover to „rediscover their personal agency and efficacy‟ (2012, p. 452)

Such practices may help to empower mothers and children, increasing the

positive elements of their identity and raising their confidence and self-

esteem as they work to overcome past experiences of domestic violence


Thank you

Dr Emma Katz

[email protected]

References

This presentation is based on the article:

Katz, E. (in press) „Recovery-Promoters: Ways that Mothers and Children Support One Another‟s

Recoveries from Domestic Violence‟ British Journal of Social Work (2015 Special Issue: „Social Work and

Recovery‟)

Other references:

Callaghan, J. (2015) „Mothers and Children? Representations of Mothers in Research on Children‟s

Outcomes in Domestic Violence‟, Psychology of Women Section Review, 17, pp. 13-20.

Callaghan, J.E.M., Alexander, J.H. (2015) Understanding Agency and Resistance Strategies (UNARS):

Children’s Experiences of Domestic Violence, Northampton, UK: University of Northampton.

Houghton, C. (2015) „Young People‟s Perspectives on Participatory Ethics: Agency, Power and Impact in

Domestic Abuse Research and Policy-Making‟, Child Abuse Review, 24, pp. 235-248.

Humphreys, C., Thiara, R. K. and Skamballis, A. (2011) „Readiness to Change: Mother-Child Relationship

and Domestic Violence Intervention‟, British Journal of Social Work, 41, pp. 166-184.

Johnson, S.P., Sullivan, C.M. (2008) „How Child Protection Workers Support or Further Victimize

Battered Mothers‟, Affilia, 23, pp. 242-258.


References


Katz, E. (2015a) „Domestic Violence, Children‟s Agency and Mother-Child Relationships: Towards a More

Advanced Model‟, Children and Society, 29, pp. 69-79.

Katz, E. (2015b) Surviving Together: Domestic Violence and Mother-Child Relationships, Ph.D. Thesis,

University of Nottingham.

Lapierre, S. (2008) „Mothering in the Context of Domestic Violence: The Pervasiveness of a Deficit Model

of Mothering‟, Child and Family Social Work, 13, pp. 454-463.

Leamy, M., Bird, V., Le Boutillier, C., Williams, J., Slade, M. (2011) „Conceptual Framework for Personal

Recovery in Mental Health: Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis,‟ British Journal of

Psychiatry, 199, pp. 445–452.

McManus, E., Belton, E., Barnard, M., Cotmore, R. and Taylor, J. (2013) „Recovering from Domestic

Abuse, Strengthening the Mother-Child Relationship: Mothers‟ and Children‟s Perspectives of a New

Intervention‟, Child Care in Practice, 19(3), pp. 291-310.

Mullender, A., Hague, G., Imam, U., Kelly, L., Malos, E., Regan, L. (2002) Children’s Perspectives on

Domestic Violence, London, Sage.

References


Nolas, S-M., Neville, L. and Sanders, E. (2012) Evaluation of the Community Group Programme

for Children & Young People: Final Report, London, Middlesex University/University of

Sussex/AVA Community Groups Project.

Overlien, C., Hyden, M. (2009) „Children‟s Actions when Experiencing Domestic Violence‟, Childhood, 16,

pp. 479-497.

Semaan, I., Jasinski, J.L., Bubriski-McKenzie, A. (2013) „Subjection, Subjectivity and Agency: The Power,

Meaning and Practice of Mothering among Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Abuse‟, Violence

Against Women, 19, pp. 69-88.

Sharp, C., Jones, J., Netto, G. and Humphreys, C. (2011) We Thought They didn’t See: Cedar in Scotland:

Children and Mothers Experiencing Domestic Abuse Recovery Evaluation Report, Edinburgh,

Research for Real.

Tew, J., Ramon, S., Slade, M., Bird, V., Melton, J., Le Boutillier, C. (2012) „Social Factors and Recovery

from Mental Health Difficulties: A Review of the Evidence‟, British Journal of Social Work, 42, pp.

443-460.

Thiara , RK., Gill, AK. (2011) Domestic Violence, Child Contact and Post-Separation Violence Issues for

South Asian and African-Caribbean Women and Children: A Report of Findings, NSPCC: London.

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