Men’s Behaviour Change Manual & Programs – an evolution in practice
Keystones are committed to supporting all impacted family members to live safely and without fear of harm through respectful engagement with men who cause harm.
With collectively over 70 years experience working in the domestic, family violence sector and delivering Men’s Behaviour Change Programs the team at Keystones is committed to supporting organisations and practitioners to deliver MBCP’s to an optimal standard where all impacted family members can live safely, without fear of harm through respectful engagement with men who cause harm.
By working at the client’s pace, utilising the trans-theoretical model of change, motivational interviewing, a trauma informed lens and other frameworks that support men to engage in the change process, we are able to achieve greater outcomes of safety for impacted family members.
The Keystones Men’s Behaviour Change Program manual is the only Australian based MBCP practice guide focusing on the Narrative Therapy theory of ‘reintegration’. The model incorporates sound engagement practices, family safety work, risk assessment and risk reduction. Utilising evidence based program content and group work delivery that responds to victim survivor feedback in accordance with the principles of Response Based Practice.
The Keystones team understands the complexity of the skills required for perpetrator engagement and intervention. Our evidence based focus is on the immediacy of safety for impacted family members, coupled with the complexity of engaging men who cause harm in a change journey towards safe, respectful and equitable relationships. We support self-reflective practice for facilitators through motivational enhancement and attitudinal exploration, personal development and evidence-based engagement practices.
Keystones encourage exploration into practitioner and organisational engagement practices that reduce risk, versus problematic responses that may inadvertently increase risk. We support teams through clinical supervision, coaching and other modalities to understand how organisational and practitioner attitude informs our response to men who cause harm and that this response influences whether risk is reduced or increases across the behaviour change journey.
Current research suggests that attitude and behavioural change is a far lengthier journey than 20 weeks. The foundation of Keystones 20-week MBCP manual supports your organisational capacity to deliver programs in line with current funding arrangements and program rotation expectations. However, our service provision is designed to expand to create a longer duration program for organisations that wish to provide extended groups for men who embrace the change process. Offering opportunity for clients to remain engaged with your service to more fully embed the behaviour change journey. (Up to 100 weeks is possible with this model).
The keystones innovation of structured Narrative Therapy Re- Authoring Conversations and Outsider Witness group based interviews are also suited to programs who wish to adapt current manuals and incorporate a deeper, process based element to content heavy MBC delivery.
Keystones currently support a range of services and organisations, including both registered MBC providers and organisations that require assistance with compliance & registration to become (provisional) MBC providers.
Keystones offer a range of services and supports for practitioners and organisations that deliver Men’s Behaviour Change Programs, or who aim to incorporate Men’s Behaviour Change into their service delivery model.
We recognise the rigours of establishing MBC compliance and ongoing adherence to practice standards and acknowledge this can create organisational strain and practitioner burden. Keystones have a fully developed suite of policy documents that fulfil all elements of the NSW compliance frameworks and can be adapted to standards of National Frameworks or the State based compliance requirements of your programs jurisdiction.
Keystones offer a range of templates to support intake documentation in accordance with the Risk Needs Responsivity (RNR) framework and the Risk Safety Support Framework (RSSF), and can be modified to your organisational context.
To arrange a meeting or for more information in how we might be able assist your organisation or team, please call or email us
Narrative Therapy Specific Men’s Behaviour Change Program Manual: an evolution in contemporary MBC practice.
Each week of Keystones MBC program is scaffolded via Narrative Therapy Group Work process to engage the men’s current context and ethical preference for safe, respectful, non-violent relationships. The Keystones MBC program incorporates weekly teams based, victim / survivor imperative identification and assessment responses, to implement Reauthoring conversations and Outsider Witness Practices (White, 2006). This is a highly unique evolution in MBC practice that respectfully insists the active engagement from every participant, every week, from their own unique and individual context.
Every element of the program links men back to the Cognitive Behavioural (CBT) self regulation framework of the program, inviting immediate behaviour change, safety planning, and responsibility building.
This model is the only MBC program that simultaneously engages Risk Needs Responsivity alongside Response Based Practice in real time, through our system of weekly assessment, planning and highly structured MBCP facilitation.
Keystones affords MBC teams a model of active leadership and respectful ownership of the group room, planning and process, supporting engagements from the position of ‘power with’ (collaborative practice) versus ‘power over’ (coercion). The core strengths philosophy respectfully insists upon men’s authentic engagement and participation through attachment, affiliation and self regulation and responsibility. All templates are provided, integration is fully supported by the Keystones team, without any formal (prerequisite) narrative therapy training required.
Along with an array of industry recognised (Psycho – Education Based) activities (20-100 weeks of MBC content), our manual facilitates a contemporary balance of structured Narrative Therapy groupwork, alongside sector recognised content and weekly risk assessment. The Keystones manual expands participants understanding of the impacts of violence, the gendered nature of domestic violence, and the cycles and permission giving process that normalise or justifies the reaching for abusive, coercive, controlling and pro-violent choices and decision making.
Keystones model includes 24 months implementation support and guidance: Including
• Individual practitioner supervision (as per practice compliance).
• Group / Teams based supervision. (as per best practice compliance)
• Diad/ pairs supervision for MBC facilitation teams.
• Weekly orientation meetings throughout program delivery
• Operational Review – at completion of first rotation.
• Monthly manual and group work practice review.
• Bi-monthly recorded session reviews.
• 3 x Industry recognised specialists across 24 months as required.
Keystones 20 weeks Manual contents
- Setting the scene
- Aspirational self (Man I want to be)
- Definitions
- Traffic lights
- Impacts
- Cycle of violence
- Man box (barriers to exiting cycle of violence)
- Exit strategies from cycle of violence
- Feelings
- Taking a breather
- Managing power
- Gendered drivers/the privilege of power
- Coercive control
- Values/beliefs – Review
- Shame dance
- Boundaries
- Communication
- Responsible conflict (respectful difference)
- Parenting
- Wrap up
Appendix & References
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