For spouses, partners, family, friends, and care providers

1in6 community education and outreach consists of two distinct strategies:

1. General community education on the issue of male childhood sexual abuse and its impact.
2. Peer-driven efforts for men, girlfriends, partners, friends, family members, and service providers directly affected by the issue.

Both arms of community education and outreach include face-to-face as well as media-based communication, and both target English and Spanish-speaking communities.

For general community education and outreach, our efforts serve as a major catalyst in raising social awareness that male sexual abuse is a serious problem that deserves a comprehensive programmatic response. We offer strategic community education to legitimize the issue and promote 1in6 as the leading champion of the issue in the Southern California area, especially with regard to our target demographic (i.e., 18 to 30 year old men with histories of unwanted or abusive sexual expereinces in childhood). To schedule an education and outreach worker to speak to your group (within Southern California), click here.

The second arm of community education and outreach programming, directed at audiences more likely to have been directly impacted by the issue, utilizes peers – that is, 1in6 staff members and volunteers who themselves had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood. The peers present the scope of the problem, the kinds of help currently available to men who have had these experiences and are suffering from the effects, and what must be done by the service providers to better assist those men. To schedule an education and outreach worker to speak to your group (within Southern California), click here.

We provide outreach and education to spouses, partners, family members and friends of men who have had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood. We also provide these services community and campus-based care providers and counseling centers who serve our target population, to encourage referrals and service collaboration. To schedule an education and outreach worker to speak to your group (within Southern California), click here.

Finally, 1in6 also conducts large-scale education and outreach via public service announcements on radio and television; celebrity spokesperson endorsements; print ads in newspapers and magazines popular with the target audience; online ads; and poster campaigns in public spaces. We also have a video about the issue that is archived on 1in6.org and available to community groups interested in sharing it with their constituents. For more information on these materials, click here.

In the summer of 2009, we will begin offering the 1in6 ‘Men & Healing’ group therapy program in Southern California.

Initially the program will offer two therapy groups every week. By the end of 2009 we will offer two additional bilingual Spanish/English groups. The cost will be based on a ‘sliding scale’ appropriate to each man’s financial resources, and groups will take place in a therapist’s office or another safe location.

The two groups, Men & Healing 1 and Men & Healing 2, are named to reflect the stage of recovery that they address.

This 8-week ‘stage 1’ group will offer the opportunity to, with the help of a licensed therapist, connect with other men who’ve had similar experiences, gain valuable knowledge, and expand coping strategies. In a safe environment, men can sort through their questions, concerns, and options for dealing with the effects of unwanted or abusive childhood sexual experiences and achieving their life goals.

The group is interactive, but members are never required or ‘pushed’ to reveal personal information. It addresses the following topics:

• Understanding Trauma and the Recovery Process
• The Aftermath of Trauma
• Handling Stress & Crises
• Dissociation & Grounding
• The Impact of Unwanted or Abusive Sexual Experiences on Relationships
• How Such Experiences Can Shape One's Identity
• The Emotional Legacy of Trauma
• What to Expect in the (optional) 'Men & Healing 2' group

After completing Men & Healing 1, men can choose to participate in this 10-week group. This ‘stage 2’ group is ‘process-oriented,’ which means that almost everything that members learn is from each other, including how they relate to each other. The role of the therapist is to promote such learning by helping to ensure that the group experience is safe, healthy, and constructive for everyone. Also, individual men can choose to repeat this group as needed.

Men & Healing Phase 2 helps participants to:

• Contain post-traumatic stress
• Manage flashbacks and 'back-sliding'
• Integrate childhood memories
• Safely express anger, shame, fear and other feelings
• Address the impact of what happened on family relationships
• Mourn one's losses
• Become more grounded and mindful of one's body and breathing
• Practice self care, befriend the body, and (if applicable) curb self injury
• Take responsibility for one's behavior
• Practice trust building and develop mutual support
• Integrate issues of sexuality and sexual expression
• Rediscover fun and joy in life

Each group will serve 8 to 12 men. The cost will be based on a ‘sliding scale’ appropriate to each man’s financial resources. It is suggested though not required that participants are also in individual therapy or counseling.

All potential members will first complete an ‘assessment interview,’ to make sure the group is a good match for them and to answer any of their questions. Whenever it’s helpful and appropriate, 1in6 clinical staff will help members find good individual therapy, access health insurance to pay for services, and/or find cost-free services for those without health insurance.

Both of these groups have been offered for several years, with great benefit to many men, by The Men’s Project of Ottawa, Canada, with whom 1in6 has formed an international collaboration. The Men’s Project is a non-profit counseling agency that offers specialized treatment for men with histories of unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood (as well as other traumatic experiences in childhood or adulthood). They are providing licensed therapists chosen by 1in6 – who already have years of experience working with men who have had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood – with ‘user’s manuals’ and in-person training on how to lead these groups most effectively and helpfully.

Please email us for more information about our ‘Men and Healing’ program. We welcome any and all questions.