Services for Girls who have been Sexually Exploited
Germaine Lawrence offers new England's most comprehensive continuum of care for commercially sexually exploited girls, ages 12-18.
Our clinically sophisticated programs include a highly structured residential program, an intensively staffed group home (BTR) for those girls who need the structure of a residential program but are able to attend public schools. We also have a group home that exclusively serves girls who have been commercially sexually exploited.
We apply the Stages of Change protocols developed by GEMS in New York to define the level of service delivery that is appropriate for each girl and addresses her safety and treatment needs.
Girls who have been sexually exploited are victimized by their pimp and often experience severe trauma in the form of sexual, physical, mental and verbal abuse. Girls are also isolated from those who love and support them.
We understand the different levels of trauma experienced by these girls and assist girls in recognizing their trauma, rebuilding their self esteem, and connecting to healthy and accessible resources in the community.
Specialized Services Led by Survivors of Sexual Exploitation
Survivors of sexual exploitation are uniquely positioned to help girls engage in treatment, receive the support that they need and help them elave the people and conditions of their exploitation.
At Germaine Lawrence, survivors lead therapeutic groups and mentor girls individually. We offer the My Life My Choice (MLMC) group, a 10 week psycho-educational group that is designed to decrease the incidence and severity of girls being victimized within the commercial sex industry. To this end, MLMC provides a continuum of prevention, victim identification, and intervention services. MLMC offers provider training, prevention groups, case coordination, and survivor mentoring to victims of exploitation.
We offer in-depth training to ensure that our staff understand sexual exploitation and the resulting trauma. To connect us to other professionals working with this issue, we also participate in the Suffolk County Support to End Exploitation Now Coalition, SEEN, which works to identify girls at risk and ensure a comprehensive and systematic response.
Assessment
Our Treatment Coordinators provide a comprehensive psychosocial assessment to understand the roles that running away and resultant sexual exploitation have played in a girl's life. Treatment Coordinators gather information directly from the girls, their families, and involved collaterals around the events that led to placement and weigh the individual risk level for running away and further exploitation. In addition, Treatment Coordinators assess each girl's ability to recognize the risks involved in their behaviors, their relationships on the streets, and their readiness to take steps toward a healthier life.
Individual Therapy
In Individual therapy, the Treatment Coordinator helps girls understand the impact of trauma on their relationships and behaviors. Then, using DBT and other cognitive behavioral approaches, they teach the girls new skills to manage difficult feelings and trauma symptoms, as well as how to develop and navigate healthy relationships. They use role-plays, skill coaching, and a directed nurturing approach to teach girls concrete grounding techniques, emotion regulation strategies, and effective interpersonal skills. They also work with girls to develop Relapse Prevention Plans to decrease running away and other high risk behaviors by identifying triggers, warning signs, and alternative behaviors.
Group Therapy
Group Therapy is an important part of each girl's treatment. Treatment Coordinators lead groups for girls at risk for sexual exploitation on topics such as Healthy Relationships and Sexuality, DBT Skills, Substance Abuse Prevention, and Women's Empowerment.
The My Life My Choice (MLMC) group is a key component of our treatment plans. The program:
- Decreases teens' perception of prostitution as innocuous or glamorous and increase teens' perception of prostitution as dangerous and debilitating;
- Increases teens' understanding of all aspects of prostitution, including recruitment tactics;
- Increases teens' ability to avoid involvement and find the resources they need to stay safe.
The sessions include information on sexual health, the link between substance use and prostitution, and an overarching emphasis on improving self-esteem. The facilitators use interactive activities, art, music, reading and journaling to engage the girls. The groups are facilitated as tertiary prevention groups and use a great deal of testimony from survivors who have successfully exited the Life. Survivor Mentorship We also provide opportunities for a survivor to provide one-on-one informal support and role modeling.
Family Involvement
Family involvement is crucial to each girl's success. We provide ongoing opportunities for families to be involved, including family therapy, family dinner nights and parent support groups. In addition, we offer parent coaching and skill training both in the milieu and home. Family therapy is also a critical method for engaging families. Treatment Coordinators use individualized interventions to best meet family members' needs, and assist family members in learning to communicate and problem-solve more effectively.
Girls without Identified Permanent Families
If a girl does not have an involved family, our clinicians will work with the girl and involved collaterals to identify past or potential connections that can be developed and strengthened. In addition, Germaine Lawrence has an extensive volunteer program that links individual girls with community volunteers. Through this program, the girls are able to experience positive adult role models who provide support and friendship through regular one-on-one visits and phone calls. Our experience has been that many of these connections often develop into relationships that extend far into the future.
Milieu Therapy
Every aspect of our milieu is designed to address the impact of trauma by empowering girls, involving them in decision making, keeping them safe, promoting their self esteem and teaching them skills and strategies to manage their emotions. We engage girls by praising them and teaching them skills. We use a behavior management system that is based on the Psycho-Educational Model (PEM), a nationally recognized, strength-based and evidence-based approach developed by Boy's and Girl's Town of Nebraska.
Staff are trained to recognize and respond to early warning signals that a girl is at risk to run away. We help the girls develop individualized relapse prevention plans that describe events, or triggers, which often lead to the girl having the urge to run away. The plan then defines interventions that staff and the girl can take to help her stay in the program. By using the plan, staff teach girls alternative strategies to running away when they are upset.
We also provide a wide array of engaging activities that are fun, challenging and provide the girls with a sense of accomplishment. Examples include:
- Expressive arts activities such as dance, drama, art, writing, and ceramics.
- Recreational activities such as crafts projects, wall climbing, horseback riding, fitness exercises, yoga and martial arts.
- Sports including a soccer and basketball teams.
Community Connections
As girls progress in their treatment, we help them develop new community connections that will extend beyond their stay at Germaine Lawrence. We help identify special challenges they are facing and what resources and organizations are available in the community to help them. We also look for other opportunities for girls to expand their connections in the community including off-campus jobs, volunteer mentors and activities such as community art classes, school or sport teams, or adult and college classes.