The first visit to RISE

What happens first with new victims of family violence at RISE? Let’s have one of our clinicians, Lara Buswell, talk through the process.

Women come into our service through three paths. One is a process where they have a protection order against their partner. Another is as a referral from one of the community agencies we work with. The last is to contact us voluntarily, which could be the result of a friend’s recommendation or finding us on their own.

The first step at RISE for any new client is to have an assessment, which may be up to five one-on-one meetings with a clinician.

“It can take one or two meetings or it can take five meetings,” Lara says. “We are trying to achieve an outcome with the new client to get them to verbalise what their goal will be for this process.”

For Lara, one of her goals is to get that client to come back a second time, whether it’s the next week or at some future point.

“As you would expect, many women find it difficult to talk about their situation let alone to engage with a stranger about the most private details of their lives. It is not unusual to have a woman come once and not come back. All you can do is your best to help them.”

One of the women who came back was Kath (whose story we told last year). Lara says she and Kath had an immediate connection because they had some similar shared experiences. Often, telling a new client her own story relaxes them and opens up the dialogue.

“I sometimes choose to share my experiences when I think others could benefit from hearing them. I think it makes those women feel more understood, they know that ‘I get it’ and that I’ve shared something personal about myself. I know Kath felt really grateful for being able to connect with someone who really understood where she was.” Lara knew Kath would be back for a second appointment.

“I could tell she was ready to connect and dig into the work.”

RISE assigns clinicians to all new clients based on the best fit, although sometimes it does come down to availability. Lara says that all the clinicians conduct the same process and they all try to determine how best the woman could benefit from group sessions with other women.

After several initial meetings where Lara focused on Kath’s safety and the safety of her children – the first conversation clinicians have with all clients - Kath took the group pathway. Kath wanted to talk to other women who had her experience and who would support her. She wanted to hear their stories and make sense of all of the relationships, including her own. She joined the ongoing women’s group, which operates on a rolling basis; this means new women come into the group all the time and women who are finishing leave the group regularly. Each group has varying levels of experience, which has shown to be helpful to participants.

Since Kath’s first visit way back, Lara has supported her throughout the justice process and has worked with Kath’s daughter as well.

“I know Kath has good support with friends and family around her and she is doing the mahi on her own now. She’s strong and she’s prospering. She always knows she can reconnect with us when she needs to.”