Compass of Carolina, Inc.

The generational cycles of poverty and domestic violence are inextricably linked based both on mountains of national research as well as the professional observations of experienced therapists at Compass of Carolina. Disrupting the cycle of domestic abuse is important to breaking the cycle of poverty.

Compass offers a set of comprehensive services aimed at ending the generational cycle of abuse by working with abusers as well as adult victims. Studies demonstrate that children and adolescents who grow up around domestic violence and experience the cycle of violence repeatedly suffer long-term consequences in that they have the tendency to repeat these negative behaviors as adults. The problem is then passed on from generation to generation, and this destructive cycle also leaves families more likely to be mired in poverty.

John Fantuzzo and Wendy K. Mohr from the University of Pennsylvania wrote in “Prevalence and Effects of Child Exposure to Domestic Violence,” “To date, research on the effects of child exposure to domestic violence indicates that this exposure has an adverse impact across a range of child functioning, produces different effects at different ages, increases the risk for child abuse, and is associated with other risk factors such as poverty and parental substance abuse.”

One strategy is our Family Violence Intervention Program- Victim program goals:
• To provide education to victims of domestic violence regarding family dynamics, safety, healthy relationships, and understanding of the criminal justice system.

• To assist victims of domestic violence to develop a safety plan for themselves and family. Refer victims to legal services and safe shelters.

• To refer victims of domestic violence to community wrap-around services to ensure a holistic approach for the safety and security of the family.

• To offer 5 sessions of individual counseling to assist victims in identifying and addressing any individual emotional, psychological, or physical needs to ensure stabilization, safety, and security for the family. We also tried to start a therapeutic support group for victims of domestic violence but it was not well attended for over 6 months.

• To provide all services in a trauma-informed manner.

The Batterer program aims to teach gender equality in relationships and teaches participants to identify various forms of abuse, recognize and detail the type of abuse they have engaged in, take responsibility for the abuse, and find alternatives to violence, often helping participants learn to develop a nonabusive response to behavior that they might ordinarily respond. We measure success thru recidivism rates.
- To teach abusive partners to develop empathy for their victims, and identify and self-monitor negative thoughts.
- To identify and interrupt the negative self-talk that often precedes incidences of violence, in order to prevent further abuse.
Metric - reduce recidivism rates

Domestic violence dramatically and sometimes tragically affects the lives of children who grow up in homes where there is such abuse. In an in-depth investigation titled “The startling toll on children who witness domestic violence is just now being understood,” USA Today reported in 2019, that “New research is giving scientists more insight into the far-reaching and long-lasting harms of domestic violence to the children who grow up around it -- including a startling finding: Witnessing abuse carries the same risk of harm to children's mental health and learning as being abused directly.” The story continued, “And research also shows that these children are as likely to have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as soldiers returning from war.”

Our Child and Adolescent Counselor implements Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), an evidence-based treatment protocol for children and adolescents impacted by trauma and other mental health concerns. Research has demonstrated that TF-CBT successfully resolves a broad array of emotional and behavioral difficulties associated with single, multiple and complex trauma experiences, and it is the primary treatment model used by the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Department at the Medical University of South Carolina.

The research and best practices that anchor Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy are used in the therapy offered through Domestic Violence Starts Small. While this grant covers a program for children and adolescents, our agency is a certified Batterer Intervention Program provider. We offer classes based on the respected Duluth Model which is described as “an ever-evolving way of thinking about how a community works together to end domestic violence.” The court-ordered intervention program for batterers is highly successful with a recidivism rate of around 10 percent for those who successfully complete the program. A similar program is held for Victims of Domestic Violence although the focus and content obviously are different.

New research is showing that exposing children to violence leads to lower grades and a greater probability of dropping out of school. And Eamon McCrory, a professor of developmental neuroscience at University College London, has found growing up in homes with such violence often makes it difficult for these children to get along with others.

Batterer Intervention program is measured thru reduced recidivism rates.
Metrics for all programs are forthcoming.

Meanwhile, please call Executive Director, Laurie Rovin, 864-467-3434, should you have questions.