Anchoring Change DAPP
An Intensive 30-Week 1-to-1 Behaviour Change & Safe Parenting Programme aiming to Break Toxic Relationship Scripts, Securing Family Safety.
The Anchoring Change Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme (DAPP) is a specialist, structurally rigorous behavioral intervention delivered entirely via tailored, 1-to-1 practitioner-led sessions. Developed for No Excuse for Abuse CIC Talking Minds, this comprehensive 30-week framework is designed for both self-referred individuals and court-mandated clients (including Cafcass, family law court, and social work referrals).
We move beyond traditional, generic models to address the full psychological and legal spectrum of domestic abuse as defined by the UK Domestic Abuse Act 2021. By seamlessly blending robust behavioral accountability with advanced counseling frameworks—including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
and Transactional Analysis (TA)—we equip individuals with the psychological insight required to understand why they use control, without ever excusing the behavior.
and Transactional Analysis (TA)—we equip individuals with the psychological insight required to understand why they use control, without ever excusing the behavior.
The ultimate objective of Anchoring Change is to reduce multi-agency risk, break intergenerational cycles of trauma, and ensure the long-term safety of families and children.
- Foster Deep Behavioral Accountability: Guide individuals to move past defense mechanisms like denial, minimisation, and blame-shifting to take 100% ownership of their choices.
- Deconstruct Control Dynamics: Unpack and eliminate covert abuse tactics, including coercive control, isolation, digital surveillance, and reality distortion (gaslighting).
- Equip with Actionable Tools: Train clients in high-level de-escalation strategies, such as The Timeout Protocol and The Self-Talk Log, to interrupt physiological flooding before it turns into volatile behavior.
- Prioritise Child Protection: Realign parental motivation around the neurological and psychological well-being of their children, building a reliable emotional safety net.
- Secure Safe Separation Boundaries: Establish strict communication and behavioral boundaries post-separation, introducing high-conflict Parallel Parenting structures and the BIFF method to eliminate emotional baiting.
A Structured, Six-Stage Path to Lasting Change
Our programme is split into six sequential modules, meticulously designed to guide the client from defense to deep self-awareness and safe parenting practice.
Module 1: Foundations, Accountability, & The Self (Weeks 1–5)This initial module establishes a firm psychological baseline for self-reflection by exploring individual accountability and the legal frameworks of the UK Domestic Abuse Act 2021. Through tailored 1-to-1 practitioner guidance, individuals dismantle common cognitive defenses like denial, minimisation, and blame-shifting, while using Transactional Analysis and the Karpman Drama Triangle to identify their personal behavior patterns during conflict.
Module 2: Coercive Control & Ego Dynamics (Weeks 6–11)Shifting focus away from isolated physical incidents, this module examines the covert, systemic patterns of non-physical abuse that restrict a partner’s liberty. Individuals take a deeper look at the architecture of isolation, financial abuse, and reality distortion (gaslighting), analyzing how personal traits of entitlement and ego inflation are often used as fragile defense mechanisms to mask deep-seated shame.
Module 3: Tracking Fixed Behaviours & Tools (Weeks 12–16)This practical module transitions individuals from psychological theory to the personalized mastery of concrete Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) de-escalation tools. It directly addresses modern behaviors around stalking, surveillance, and digital abuse, teaching clients the CBT chain (Triggers vs. Choices) and how to successfully execute The Timeout Protocol to safely interrupt physiological flooding before it escalates.
Module 4: Shadow Work, Vulnerability, & Personal History (Weeks 17–20)A deeply reflective counseling block designed to help individuals safely explore the underlying root causes of why they use control, without ever excusing or validating the choice to abuse. In a private, clinical space, clients unpack transgenerational Life Scripts and childhood family rules to understand how a fear of rejection drives the urge to dominate, while learning to safely deconstruct anger.
Module 5: Parenting Block: Child-Centred Recovery (Weeks 21–25)This module realigns the individual’s parental motivation entirely around the psychological, neurological, and developmental safety of their children. By exploring family conflict “through the child’s eyes,” parents dismantle the myth that children are uninjured by background tension and are equipped with practical co-regulation tools to build a reliable emotional safety net.
Module 6: Post-Separation, Harassment, & Safe Co-Parenting (Weeks 26–30)The final block establishes rigorous risk management and uncompromisable boundaries following relationship breakdown and during child contact arrangements. Individuals learn to navigate separation grief without resorting to legal weaponisation, master the high-conflict Parallel Parenting framework, apply the BIFF communication method to text and email, and complete a written Relapse Prevention Plan.
The 24 week Behaviour Change Programme
This is a 24 week, 1:1 Perpetrator Programme. We have been working with perpetrators of domestic abuse aiming to keep survivors safe and hold perpetrators accountable – whilst offering them meaningful opportunities to change.
Our interventions support perpetrators in the early stages to reduce the instances of abuse, and the use highly harmful behaviours. We recognise that a range of interventions are needed to meet the needs of perpetrators and to address abusive behaviours, and we are therefore able to deliver this programme to clients that are referred by the community or a self-referring process.
Freedom + NEFA Awareness Programme
A 12-week or 2-day intensive version for perpetrators to raise awareness of domestic abuse, its impact and to encourage changes in behaviour. The Freedom Programme examines the roles played by attitudes and beliefs on the actions of abusers and the responses of survivors.
Summary
This programme will take us on a journey of self-discovery in which we will plot out our own individual paths in life. It is intended to bring about change while also imparting knowledge. It will investigate our beliefs, boost our self-esteem, assist us in recognising and embracing our long-term goals, and help us consider how to bring those goals into reality. This course will investigate the origins of our negative thoughts and teach us more effective ways to deal with them. It will assist us in feeling more resilient and optimistic about the future as a result.
What’s Covered?
- How the abuser exercises control.
- The abusers strategies and attitudes.
- The impact of marital violence and abuse on any children residing in the household.
- The workshops will also help survivors realise that what has occurred to them is not their fault and provide them with the knowledge necessary to protect themselves and their children from danger.
Some Statistics to know
- The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimated that 5.0% of adults (6.9% women and 3.0% men) aged 16 years and over experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2022; this equates to an estimated 2.4 million adults (1.7 million women and 699,000 men).
- Approximately 1 in 5 adults aged 16 years and over (10.4 million) had experienced domestic abuse since the age of 16 years.
- There was no significant change in the prevalence of domestic abuse experienced by adults aged 16 to 59 years in the last year, compared with the year ending March 2020; a year largely unaffected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the last time the data were collected.
- The number of police recorded domestic abuse-related crimes in England and Wales increased by 7.7% compared with the previous year, to 910,980 in the year ending March 2022; this follows increases seen in previous years and may reflect increased reporting by victims.
- The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) domestic abuse-related charging rate in England and Wales increased for the first time in four years to 72.7% in the year ending March 2022 but remains below the year ending March 2018 (75.9%).
- The National Domestic Abuse Helpline delivered 50,791 support sessions through phone call or live chat in the year ending March 2022, a similar number to the previous year.