We offer a range of programmes for children and young people, aged 6-18yrs, affected by domestic abuse and those at risk of using abusive behaviours. Referrals to our programmes in Blackburn with Darwen can be made using this form:

We also deliver Parachute across Lancashire - you can refer using this form

For more information, waiting times and any other questions please email info@thewishcentre.org

Expect Respect

Expect Respect is an 8 week programme aimed at empowering Young People to Expect Respect in their Relationships. Through a range of engaging activities and discussions, this programme aims to enable participants to;

• Learn about domestic abuse,
• Identify healthy and unhealthy relationships,
• Explore their own relationships,
• Build self-esteem, confidence and positive body image,
• Learn how to stay safe and how to get help.

Expect Respect is suitable for people aged 11-18. 

Young People's Recovery Toolkit

Young People's Recovery Toolkit (YPRT) is an 8 week course for children who have witnessed or experienced domestic abuse. The overall aims of the course are to help children and young people come to terms with their experiences and to develop positive lifestyle and coping strategies. Living with domestic abuse forces children and young people to develop unconscious coping strategies that keep them safe within the context of unequal power divides and extremely controlling behaviour by the perpetrator. This is likely to be particularly influential in how the young person develops beliefs and attitudes about themselves, the world around them and differences with gender roles. This programme is informed by Trauma Focused Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.
​
Topics covered include:

• How abuse affects our thinking
• Self esteem – what is it?
• My family
• Talking positive
• Ways to handle difficult feelings and situations
• Healthy relationships and trust

YPRT is suitable for young people aged 11-16. 

Helping Hands

Helping Hands is a fun packed programme for children. It addresses the challenging issues of personal space, awareness of acceptable and unacceptable behaviours, and safety planning. Three themes, called the Protective Behaviours, are reinforced throughout the programme
We all have the right to feel safe all the time. There is nothing so small or so awful we can’t talk about it with someone. Others have the right to feel safe with us. It is particularly useful for children who have experienced/witnessed domestic abuse but is also a suitable course for any children to learn about protective behaviours.

Parachute

Parachute is a 10 week programme for 11-19 year olds who have been identified as needing help in managing conflict in their relationships. Parachute is aimed at young people who may already have a history of resorting to violence to try and solve conflict. They may have a history of frequent conflict at home, in their relationships, or at school. 

Parachute is designed to:

• Develop self awareness and self control
• Promote positive social skills
• Teach pro-social problem-solving skills
• Increase confidence and self esteem
• Improve decision making

The programme includes adaptations of exercises found in several empirically established programmes of work aimed at addressing domestic abuse, general offending behaviour and poor school performance. Elements of these programmes have been brought together designed for use specifically with young people.
 
Parachute is a combination of skills-building and cognitive behavioural approach to developing behaviour change. The fundamental premise of cognitive behavioural work is that by increasing an individuals self awareness you allow them to have more control over their decisions, their thoughts and their behaviour.
 
Therefore, the programme is about offering young people an opportunity to learn about themselves and as a result, change their behaviour in the future. It is not about ‘fixing’ them or ‘forcing’ them to change. They will have to choose to use the skills they learn on the programme. The sessions will show them that there is another way to handle problems and conflict rather than resorting to abusive or violent behaviour.

​There are 2 elements to the programme- group work and/or 1:1 sessions.  

RYPP - Respect Young Peoples Programme

The RYPPis a programme for families where children or young people aged between 10 and 16 are abusive or violent towards the people close to them, particularly their parents or carers. This abuse may be physical, verbal, financial, coercive or emotional and may include behaviour like hitting, making threats or causing damage in the home.

The RYPP is targeted at reducing risk factors associated with later offending/aggressive behaviour such as:

• Poor attachment
• Poor academic attainment / school engagement
• Low empathy
• Poor conflict resolution skills
• Poor emotional regulation
• Risk taking behaviours

The below video is a frank discussion about adolescent on parent abuse, how it impacts the family and what support can be offered.