Lisa Weinberg, Ph.D., Montclair State University Karen Chasen, JD, Prepare Inc./IMPACT

1. An Innovative Outreach Program: Personal Safety and Self-Defense Training/Group Counseling for Women with a History of Trauma Lisa Weinberg, Ph.D., Montclair State University Karen Chasen, JD, Prepare Inc./IMPACT

2. History of Trauma • Childhood sexual abuse • Physical abuse • Assault • Rape • Relationship violence

3. Rationale for Outreach Program • Research on female students with a history of trauma • Statistics of students on campus with a history of trauma • Research on the effectiveness of self- defense training for this population

4. Research on Female Students with a History of Trauma Women with a history of trauma: • Are more likely than other women to be victims of some type of assault or abuse • Frequently blame themselves for their victimization • Often don’t have the confidence to assert themselves or physically defend themselves or believe they have the right to advocate for themselves • Are less likely to attend a more traditional self-defense course taught by male police officers since they may not feel it is a safe place to deal with the emotional issues inherent in this type of training

5. Research on Issues Related to Students with a History of Trauma • Decreased self-efficacy • Decreased self-esteem • Poor body image • Shame/self-blame about trauma history • PTSD symptoms • Difficulty with assertiveness • Decreased academic success

6. Statistics of Students with a History of Trauma • Approximately 16 % of students seen for an intake evaluation at CAPS reported a history that includes an unwanted sexual experience • Approximately 33% of these students reported a history of harassing, controlling and/or abusive behavior from another person

7. Research on Effectiveness of Self-Defense Training for this Population • Increase in personal safety skills • Increase in feelings of self-efficacy • Improvement in perceptions of one’s body • Decreased psychological distress • Increased assertiveness in relationships • Feelings of empowerment • Decreased shame and self-blame • Improvement in self-confidence • Decreased PTSD symptoms • Decreased feelings of vulnerability, fear & anxiety

8. Development and Implementation of the Program • Recruitment and screening of participants • Structure of the program • Content of the program • Research component

9. Recruitment • All-campus emails and flyers • Collaborated with University Health Center, Women’s Center, Women and Gender Studies Program, University Police Department, Dean of Students • Psychoeducation about program for all CAPS staff • CAPS website, other MSU websites

10. Screening for Participants • 30-45 minute group screening • 45-60 minute clinical intake Criteria for inclusion: • 18+ year old female MSU student • History of trauma • Psychologically stable (not in crisis) • In individual therapy or agreed to work with an individual therapist at CAPS or in the community

11. Structure of the Program Group #1: 90 minute group session to help students prepare for the self-defense class (discuss confidentiality, possible retriggering, supports, coping mechanisms, crisis resources) Groups #2-7: 3 hour personal safety/self-defense class followed by a 1-hour group counseling component Group #8: 90 minute group session to process their experiences and impact of the program

12. Content of the Program • Setting the context • Threat assessment • Threat management • Verbal strategies and scripts • Physical resistance strategies

13. Setting the Context • Where self-defense training fits into the spectrum of violence prevention • Gendered violence and rape culture • Facts and myth busting • People are assaulted differently: how college-aged women are targeted • Resistance is always a choice – NOT a requirement

14. Threat Assessment • Environment: Reading situations • Behavior: Reading people’s actions and words • Context: Does behavior/situation match the environment and/or the relationship • Instincts: • Tuning into gut instincts • Avoiding denial, rationalization, minimization, excuse-making or justification • Addressing bias and stereotyping as non-useful ways to judge people and situations

15. Threat Management • Awareness and avoidance strategies • Responding with your own body language and non-verbal cues • Organizing your body • Managing stress reactions with breath and grounding strategies • Feeling present in your body and aware of your body position, facial expression, eye contact • Tone, volume and inflection in your voice

16. Verbal Strategies • 3 boundary-setting options • Negotiation • De-escalation • Lying • Bonding • Accessing help of allies, bystanders and others

17. Scripts • High and low levels of threat • People you know and people you don’t know • Consent and navigating levels of intimacy • Abusive and unwelcome behavior (by intimates, friends, family, work colleagues)

18. Variables in Using Physical Resistance Potential situations: • Where you see the problem coming (persuasion predator) • Where you don’t see the problems coming (power predator) Context: • People you know • People you don’t know Location: • Public spaces • Private spaces

19. Physical Resistance Strategies: Selection Criteria • Ability to be deployed when adrenalized • Learned in a short period of time • Not reliant on brute strength or a high level of precision to be effective

20. Physical Resistance Strategies: Techniques • Strikes with palm to throat/under chin, to groin • Strikes to eyes with hand • Strikes with elbow to head and solar plexus • Strikes with knees (lower thigh) to groin and head • Strikes with heel and head • Using hips, leverage, and strikes to deal with being pinned

21. Rape Culture: The Cultural Context for Gendered Violence • Intersection of rigid gender roles and vulnerability to both being a target and being a perpetrator • Pervasiveness of “blame the victim” language • Correlation between being under the influence and sexual violence (perpetrator and target • Noting the differences in ability to access self-defense based on race, class, ability and immigration status • Understanding the barriers to reporting and accessing help

22. Research Component of the Program • Voluntary • IRB approval • Participants signed consent forms • Research measures administered through pre and post testing (three times) • At the beginning ofgroup #1 • After group #8 • 5 months after program completion

23. Research Measures • Background Questionnaire • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist • Interpersonal Self-Efficacy Scale • Self-Defense Self-Efficacy Scale

24. Experience of Providing this Program on a College Campus • Roles of the self-defense trainers and the therapist • Debriefing after each session by the facilitators • Challenges faced by the participants and the facilitators • Benefits for the participants

25. Roles of the Self-Defense Trainers • Teach personal safety and self-defense skills through demonstrations, drills and role-plays • Create scenarios that range from verbal harassment to realistic assault situations • Teach students new responses to threatening situations and how to manage adrenalized reactions • Create a safe environment • Provide psychoeducation on interpersonal violence, risks of victimization & predatory patterns

26. Roles of the Therapist: In the Self-Defense Class • Demonstrate techniques – act as a role model for the students and provide opportunities for observational learning • Provide support to all the students by being present and an active participant in the class • Provide as-needed support to individual students through grounding, reassurance and assistance with re-engagement in the class

27. Roles of the Therapist: In Group Counseling • Provide psychoeducation on trauma reactions • Create a safe and supportive environment • Help students to identify triggers in class and develop a plan to work through triggers that may be activated in class • Encourage students to develop a support system in the class and to utilize their support system outside (therapist, family, friends etc.) • Help students to process their reactions in class

28. Debriefing After Each Session 45 minute phone conference between self-defense instructor and therapist after each session to do the following: • Process what happened in class • Therapist reports to instructor about group counseling • Plan for the content of the next session • Discuss the level of support needed overall and for individuals • Plan to intervene as needed with various participants

29. Challenges Faced by the Participants • To come to class despite anxiety – not using avoidance as a coping mechanism • Staying present while facing painful memories and dealing with stressful situations (instead of dissociation or flashbacks) • Managing shame and distress at having strong emotional reactions to class material in the early part of the class • Accessing voice under stress, titrating tone, volume, inflection • Feeling that you have the right to protect yourself • Managing co-morbid problems (e.g. physical health, financial, dysfunctional families, contact with aggressors, academic issues, unhealthy eating and sleep issues)

30. Challenges Faced by the Facilitators • Making sure participants were ready for the group and had support from an individual therapist • Creating a safe environment • Encouraging the participants to stay with it even when they wanted to give up • Coping with participants who dissociated in class and had flashbacks • Learning each person’s unique learning style and how they best like to be coached and supported • Being aware of more subtle dynamics between participants and between each participant and team member

31. Benefits for the Participants Reduction of PTSD Symptoms: • Experience fewer nightmares and flashbacks • Feel safer in the world • Become connected to others in a healthy way • Not feel ashamed of the past, not blame themselves, not feel damaged • Have better functioning overall – fewer missed classes or work days

32. Benefits for the Participants Increase in Their Own Agency: • Recognize and deal with inappropriate behaviors • Feel more self-confident and empowered to stand up for themselves • Know they have the right to protect themselves • Know how to use their voices and set boundaries • Able to use direct verbal communication • Develop effective coping mechanisms

33. Benefits for the Participants Improvement in Social Functioning and General Well-Being: • Feel less isolated, alone and misunderstood • Become more comfortable dating again • Cope better with loss • Appreciate their role in their healing process • Develop a deeper appreciation for the dynamics of what happened to them and what role society and culture played in that • Experience a transfer of skills to all aspects of life – able to take on new challenges

34. Results of the Research Surveys The pre and post data from the surveys were analyzed and the results were the following: • Significant decrease in PTSD symptoms based on the results of the PCL Checklist. • Significant increase in interpersonal self-efficacy based on the results of the Interpersonal Self-Efficacy Scale. • Significant increase in self-defense self-efficacy based on the results of the Self-Defense Self-Efficacy Scale.

35. Quote From One Woman “The best part of this group was not only the physical self-defense and verbal lessons, but the amazing women in the group. It really was eye-opening to see how I am not alone. Even though I knew I wasn’t alone, the fact that other women who went through the same or similar situations were standing next to me, supporting me and each other, really made the difference. Many women of the group have trust issues, myself included, but I felt that we finally found a place where no judgment existed – a trust that was immediately built because of our past. I know the knowledge I’ve obtained and bonds created will last for a lifetime.”

36. Role Play To provide an example of the self-defense skills taught in this class

37. References Brecklin, L.R. (2004). Self-defense/assertiveness training, women’s victimization history, and psychological characteristics. Violence Against Women, 10, 479-497. Cermele, J.A. (2004). Teaching resistance to teach resistance: The use of self-defense in teaching undergraduates about gender violence. Feminist Teacher, 10 (1), 1-15. Fraser, K.L. & Russell, G.M. (2000). The role of the group in acquiring self-defense skills: Results of a qualitative study. Small Group Research, 31, 397-423. Hollander, J. (2004). “I can take care of myself”: The impact of self-defense training on women’s lives. Violence Against Women, 10, 205-235. Rosenblum, G.D. & Taska, L.S. (2014). Self-defense training as a clinical intervention for survivors of trauma. Violence Against Women, 20(3), 293-308.

38. Violence Against Women: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal Special Issue: Self-Defense Against Sexual Assault. Volume 20, Number 3, March 2014

39. Special Thanks Thanks to a Community Action Grant from American Association for University Women (AAUW) I was able to bring this program to MSU. Thanks to Katrina Maurer, MSU graduate student in the M.A. Counseling Program for her assistance with data entry and data analysis.

40. Contact Information For more information about this outreach program or for a copy of this presentation, please contact Lisa Weinberg at Montclair State University: weinbergl@mail.montclair.edu For more information about the personal safety/self-defense program, please contact Karen Chasen: prepareinc@verizon.net www.prepareinc.com www.facebook.com/PrepareInc