Survivor therapy empowerment program

The theories underlying trauma-informed and trauma-specific treatment including requiring attention to internal and external safety, client choice, collaboration with client and psychotherapist, building trust, and empowerment of the client are foundations discussed in this chapter.

Similarly, understanding sex-role expectations, socioeconomic conditions, interrupted schooling, and the chaos at home and for some in the foster care system that trafficking victims are often exposed to prior to being trafficked also needs to be addressed. Sex-trafficked children rarely come to psychotherapy voluntarily, so care needs to be taken when conducting interviews and designing treatment programs.

Following guidelines for other trauma and feminist recovery is a good start, but there are significant issues that are specific to sex-trafficked victims to help them become survivors. These include developing trust, tolerating elopement from programs, learning new economic survival skills, restoring resiliency, and building tolerance for belonging to groups and community. The Survivor Therapy Empowerment Program STEP that focuses on healing interventions from gender violence and interpersonal partner violence is described and adaptations for sex-trafficked survivors discussed.

This program uses a combination of cognitive behavioral and relational techniques grounded in feminist and trauma theory. Skip to main content. This service is more advanced with JavaScript available. Advertisement Hide. Authors Authors and affiliations Lenore Walker.

Follow Contact. Tara S. We know having help, such as daycare, can make it a little easier to get help. Our daycare staff will take care of your children while you attend group, fill out paperwork, or meet with an advocate.

Escape Log In. Search for:. Foreign nationals of trafficking often experience compounding barriers to safe work, including complex trauma coupled with lack of documentation and language barriers. Since , Dressember has partnered on this program to provide work opportunities for survivors in New York City focusing on job-readiness classes, job placement, and entrepreneurship training. These choices are a fundamental aspect of empowerment for women whose ability to choose had been stolen throughout their exploitation.

Human trafficking survivors are often left with criminal records as a result of being forced to engage in illegal activity. These records hold survivors back, impacting their ability to obtain employment, housing, education, benefits and financial assistance, immigration relief or adjustment of status and family stability. Survivors are routinely burdened with numerous records in multiple jurisdictions, requiring a comprehensive national approach.