Evaluation of the Inner strength programme for domestic violence and abuse, Blackpool

Abstract

The Inner Strength Programme (IS) (Graham-Kevan and Wilks-Riley, 2011) was commissioned by Blackpool Social Care as part of Blackpool’s Domestic Abuse and Interpersonal Violence Strategy. Inner Strength is a group-based, 26-session therapeutic intervention, delivered in community settings or in prison, for people who have perpetrated reactive violence and abuse. Inner Strength was designed for men and for women who have been exposed to multiple trauma and compounded childhood adversity, who have perpetrated reactive domestic violence and abuse (DVA) towards an intimate partner and who may have also engaged in other forms of offending. The programme combines elements of dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) and mentalisation based therapy (MBT). The authors of the programme describe IS as a way of equipping participants with 'a toolbox of skills' that address the risk factors most consistently associated with reactive violence: emotional dysregulation, poor coping, low resilience, and limited conflict resolution skills. Sexual offences preclude participation in this specific programme. Inner Strength was chosen by Lancashire Constabulary and Blackpool Social Care following a pilot among medium level offenders in Forest Bank prison. This reported high levels of engagement, low attrition and encouraging effects in reducing criminogenic needs. Reoffending data from this cohort found that one year post release, the prisoners who completed IS were not convicted of any further domestic violence or other offences. In Blackpool, IS was led and delivered by a three-person team, two police officers and one social worker, with some additional support from colleagues.