Life Skills Groups for Women

Bedford Row’s Life Skills program focuses mainly on peer support and mentoring although the programme is facilitated by a psychotherapist and a person trained in counseling, facilitation, addiction studies, and community health and development. There are 2 programmes, the basic Life Skills programme which lasts for 10 weeks and the advanced, which lasts 17 weeks.

The programme provides a safe place for family members to discuss co-dependency, self-blame, feelings of anger, and to find a way to express those feelings without anger. Major topics during discussions include dealing with addiction and coping with the release of a partner or son. In some cases the issues of domestic and sexual violence emerge and women are also taught safety measures. For the advanced programme, the aim is to give those who participate the skills to support other families affected by imprisonment.