PDAP Paper final PDF

Running head: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ADVOCACY PLAN
Professional Development Advocacy Plan (PDAP)
For Men with a History of Domestic Violence
A Group Proposal: ‘YES, WE CAN’
Sradha Manna
The College of New Jersey
October 2013
Author Note
Sradha Manna, Department of Counselor Education, The College of New Jersey.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sradha Manna,
Department of Counselor Education, The College of New Jersey, 2000 Pennington Road,
Ewing, NJ 08628.
Email: mannas1@tcnj.edu

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ADVOCACY PLAN 2
Introduction and Rationale for Advocacy
This paper presents an advocacy proposal to provide Mauritian men who engage
in domestic violence (DV) with support and education that would help eradicate violence
and enhance couple and family relationships. An interactive group format is proposed.
Studies have shown that though men have been reluctant participants in all forms of
psychotherapy, they have been socialized to be active in all-male groups (as cited in
Rabinowitz, 2001). The program consists of two aspects, viz. Emotional Intelligence
(EI) and communication skills. Mayer’s and Salovey’s (1997) hierarchical model of EI
comprises of 1) emotional awareness/expression, 2) emotional facilitation of thought, 3)
understanding emotional patterns, and 4) strategic emotional management (as cited in
Lomas et al., 2013). Communications skills consist mainly of learning active listening
skills, sending and receiving messages and empathy. Such education is needed because
DV is still largely prevalent in modern twenty-first century despite all well-meant
education and policies to eliminate violence against women.
What is lacking in our concerted efforts? In an attempt to provide answers to this
question and considering the paucity of evaluative research of current existing programs
in Mauritius, this paper draws from international academic literature to present modalities
that have worked with groups of men with a history of domestic violence. A discussion of
topics such as masculinity, male psyche, male stereotypes, social messages, attachment
and neuroscience informs the reader about the root causes of this worldwide destructive
social phenomenon. It is brought to the reader’s attention that delving deeper into the
biopsychosocial development of men is not providing any justification or excuses for
domestic violence.

Brief Background of Domestic Violence in Mauritius
Like everywhere in the world, violence against women in Mauritius has existed
since time immemorial. DV is a form of abuse that can be physical, verbal, and sexual. It
can take many forms such as kicking, battering, domineering, slapping, hitting with
objects, threats such acts, stalking, and financial restrictions. Violence often occurs in
intimate relationships like marriage or cohabitation. It happens within families, friends,
and dating relationships. It appears that the typical victims are women and children.
However, in some cases men have been subject to acts of violence, either by the same sex
or by women and/or grown-up children. Statistics often do not reflect reality because
many cases go unreported. DV is pretty generalized and not only an issue of lower socio-
economic status (SES) households. In general, women from this class would tend to file
police cases for protection. The issue of DV is also very much present among members of
the middle or higher SES strata who would usually refrain from filing police or court
cases to protect their husbands’ social status and avoid shaming themselves among
friends, family and at their workplace, in the hope that things will get better (News on
Sunday, 2013).
Current Treatment Interventions
Mauritian media referred to a number of current programs to help men who
engage in violent behavior and their victims. These include educational materials such as
flyers, individual, group and family counseling, talks on radio, TV, and social welfare
centers, workshops in communities, and public sensitization on the negative effects of
violence on society as a whole. Mauritius has also actively held sixteen days of activism
against gender violence to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of

Violence against Women. Cyber dialogues, campaigns and marches characterize this
period (News on Sunday, November, 2011). In addition to enforcing legislations such as
the Protection from Domestic Violence Act (2007), the National Gender Policy (2008)
and the South African Development Communities Protocol (SADC, 2013), of which
Mauritius is a member, the Minister for Gender Equality, Child Development and Family
Welfare (MGECDFW) publicly announces that offenders will be prosecuted and
rehabilitated appropriately. However, such measures do not seem to put off men who
engage in DV against women.
Similar issues are dealt with in the western hemisphere. Authorities are still
struggling to find the best interventions to fight DV. American literature reveals that most
batterer interventions focus extensively on the assumption that men who batter women
had anger management problems and needed better conflict resolution skills. Intervention
modalities stressed mostly on anger and aggression. Neither has shown to be effective as
stand-alone programs (as cited in Wexler, 2006).
Unmet Needs by Existing Programs
Activists and other stakeholders concerned with the welfare of women, children
and men are still looking for fruitful ways to guide future efforts to eradicate violence.
Statistics compiled by the Mauritius Police Service and the MGECDFW for the year
2009 indicates increase in violence against women over time. Official data indicate a
total of 14, 126 cases (population 1.2 million) of violence against women reported in
2009, of which 745 cases were physical assault by a male spouse or partner; 815 of
verbal assault (ill-treatment, harassment, abuse, and humiliation). Eddy Jolicoeur, known
as the MAV Champion, wrote that violence against women is mostly a question of

attitude and behavior. While he believes that education is the key to stop DV, Loga
Virahsawmy, feminist and Chairperson of Gender and Media Southern Africa believes
that to uncover the reasons behind violence against women we must carry out a profound
analysis on men to know why this problem still exists (News on Sunday, November 27,
2011).
Causes: A Developmental Approach as a Guide to Advocacy
Studies have shown that alcohol abuse, drug addiction or mental illnesses may be
some of the causes behind domestic violence. It can be argued that these are only
symptoms of DV and as long as symptoms are treated, the DV is bound to persist.
Poverty has also been found to be a major cause of stress (Ivey and Zalaquett, 2011) that
may lead to DV. Walker raises the question of whether DV is the result of men hiding
their emotional pain. Does this inability to deal with pain until it overwhelms them or
interferes with their inability to love in an intimate way underlie much of the DV that is
so prevalent in today’s world (in Brooks & Good, 2001)? Physical strength and
aggression to express various kinds of distress are also common among men. Women on
the other hand, devoid of such vigor often use their children and their emotional and
verbal powers to confront their spouses. Such conditions may set the precedence for
initiating and perpetuating DV.
Gender Role Socialization
A developmental approach may help us understand the true underlying causes of
why men inflict violence upon women. According to Philpot, Brooks, Lusterman, & Nutt,
1997, gender-role socialization begins in early life. Throughout childhood, boys are

socialized to reject anything that makes them appear feminine. Boys are encouraged to
compare themselves with one another, and they often worry whether they measure up to
certain stereotype male images (as cited in Corey, 2006). Maintaining generational
patriarchal gender roles may be one of the root causes of DV.
Male Toddlers: Attachment
As toddlers, boys are pressured to leave their close relationship with their mother
so they can begin to become independent and self-reliant little men. Pollack (1998)
suggests that the sadness and disconnection men often experience stems from the loss of
this relationship. Men sometimes not only have fears about commitment in long-term
relationships but also fear getting too close in adult relationships. Men crave a return of
the nurturance, but they also fear the pain of loss (Cochran & Rabinowitz, 1996). This
may be grounded in their reaction to this earlier loss of the maternal relationship. The
pain of this loss is often repressed, yet it may surface as DV in an intimate relationship.
Education on attachment issues may serve well for both men and women.
Boys’ Emotional Needs
Society’s messages to boys are that they should have fewer emotional needs than
girls. While girls develop verbal skills earlier than boys (Sanchez-Nunez et al., 2008) and
are encouraged to fully develop connection and relationship, boys are discouraged from
developing their relational, emotional selves. Boys are encouraged to develop their
assertive selves, while girls are discouraged from developing their assertive action and
independence. Real (1998) asserts that boys and men need social connection to the same
degree as girls and women and that boys and men will not heal from their wounds of

disconnection until they learn to place themselves inside relationships rather than above
them. Pollack (1998) adds that boys need to hear the message that all their feelings, not
just the anger, are normal and “masculine” (as cited in Corey, 2006). Thus expressing
rather than repressing emotions may be a healthier choice for men who abuse women.
Boys and Men in Pain
Walker raises some questions regarding experiences of violence men may have
had as boys in their families-of-origin: What happens to the emotional development of
the boy who is exposed to his father battering his mother? Why do some boys repress
memories and subject themselves to a lifetime of physiological rather than emotional
responses to pain? Why do little girls who are exposed to violence react with different
emotions? Walker writes that abuse interferes with some children’s cognitive
development creating learning as well as personality problems that may surface as
violence. (as cited in Brooks & Good, 2001). Real (1998) states that a man would need to
acknowledge his distress, be brought to his mature self, deal with his early wounds, very
much alive within him to be able to sustain a fully satisfying relationship. This powerful
statement may inform antiviolence activists and therapists about the direction to take in
helping men discover “what they are like inside because they put so much energy into
maintaining an acceptable image” (as cited in Corey, 2006, p. 243). In addition, recent
literature on brain science may be used to educate people about how our brains get
hardwired and how changing habits will require more than advices or public talks.

Group Selection: Power, Privilege, Oppression, Discrimination
Perpetrators of DV have been selected for this PDAP because there may be a clear
need for a specific type of education. Studies have shown that men lack of emotional and
verbal skills. Thus a group format has been designed to teach them EI and
communication skills. Men who abuse are mostly reprimanded and hardly receive any
kind of practical education to understand the underlying causes of their actions. Almost
all men are bearers of the heavy burden of an internalized social and cultural oppression
with messages that dictate ways of how they should think, feel, and act (Corey, 2006).
Andronico and Horne (2004, p. 457) contend that “while many traditional roles have
changed, most men still feel the pressure of fulfilling the three P’s: Provider, Protector,
and Procreator” (as cited in Corey, 2006). According to Levant (1996), men now face
pressures to make commitments in relationships, to share housework, to view sexuality in
the context of loving relationships, and to curb aggression. These pressures “have shaken
traditional masculinity ideology to such an extent there is now a masculinity crisis in
which many feel bewildered and confused, and pride associated with being a man is
lower than at any time in the recent past” (p. 259). Mac an Ghaill & Haywood, 2012, (p.
483) have referred to men constructed as “damaged and damage doing” (cited in Lomas
et al., 2013). In this sense, men seem to be the oppressed and in need help as much as the
“weaker sex”.
Another reason why the present group has been selected is highlighted by
Walker’s male colleague who presented his belief that men are abused by women in that
the latter use their verbal superiority to abuse men. He maintained that if a psychological

paradigm is to be added to abuse then men are abused as much as women are (Walker in
Brooks & Good, 2001).
The clear disparity in the number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
for women and men in Mauritius would clarify the selection of this group. Hundreds of
NGOs work for the cause of women and children. Women have stood up against
oppression and discrimination from being the “weaker sex” and seem to have reached a
long way in many areas. A few NGOs that cater to men’s needs in terms of relationships
and marital affairs are SOS Papa that fights for custody rights for fathers, Men Against
Violence (MAV) and Men As Partners (with women) work to end violence. Considering
the above data, which group is discriminated against and oppressed and which has power
and privilege?
Selection of the present group will allow us to bring in a new definition of power
versus the traditional one that has often been associated with masculinity, strength and
hence power over others. Brown, a leading feminist categorizes power in four axes
(2010), viz., a) Power in the somatic/biological realm; b) Power in the
interpersonal/intrapsychic realm; c) Interpersonal/social - contextual power and d) Power
in the spiritual realm. This type of education might bring a healthier social change than
does fights between genders.
Advocacy: An Approach to Bring Social Justice
In line with the ACA (2003) Advocacy Competencies, the present group proposal
aims to engage in “Community Collaboration” and “develop alliances with groups

working for change” (Lewis et al., 2003). It is true that ongoing work with people gives
counselors a unique awareness of recurring themes. As an advocacy-oriented counselor
and in the primary role as an ally to different organizations concerned with social justice,
it is hoped that in addition to working with MAV, this group proposal may be replicated
with the ‘Men As Partners’ (MAP) program in the Ministry of Gender Equality, Child
Development and Family Affairs (MGECDFA). In fact, the group proposal’s themes of
EI and communication skills constitute the very core of healthy human relationships both
at home or at work. It would be interesting to propose this project to other groups in the
community, e.g. to young boys and men, as preventive measures against DV. This type of
work stretches the counselor’s boundaries from the office into the open community, a
strongly required advocacy competency by the ACA Governing Council.
Intervention Theories and Strategies
The present group proposal borrows parts of Wexler’s work ‘STOP Domestic
Violence’: innovative Skills, Techniques, Options, and Plans for better relationships
(2006) and adds a component of mindfulness – a form of meditation involving
nonjudgmental awareness of present-moment experience. According to Chu (2010)
meditation encourages a type of emotional awareness known as decentering – a detached
perspective toward one’s thoughts/feelings – which may help alter patterns of emotional
responding as people learn to refrain from reacting to negative qualia in unhelpful ways,
e.g. violence (as cited in Lomas et al., 2013).
Along the same lines, McGonigal (2012), in her audio series ‘The Neuroscience
of Change’ combines scientific findings and ancient eastern wisdom traditions to show
how long-lasting change happens slowly by building new habits to transform the

structure of the brains. Recent research emphasizes the importance of emotions and states
that “our appraisal of anything has to do with our previous experiences and our emotions
and everything has an emotional weighing to it” (Arntz et al., 2005, p. 161).
Neuroscientific evidence adds that environment and culture shape the individual and that
without a meaningful and effective environment we cannot grow and change (Ivey &
Zalaquett, 2011). Thus men who abuse, provided with the right stimulus in a group
environment by an experienced group leader can slowly change unhealthy hardwired
connections to establish new ones or strengthen existing connections.
Another theory for this group may be Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
(REBT). REBT incorporates a forceful cognitive methodology and a quick and direct
manner to lead clients into the A-B-C-D-E framework (described below). REBT seems to
be appropriate for a male population. “The purpose is not simply to provide a cathartic
experience but to help clients change some of their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors”
(Corey, 2009, p. 283).
PDAP Multicultural Considerations
It is thought that a group title in Mauritian Creole language “Oui Nu Capav” for
“Yes, We Can” will promote group ownership. This group of men is a multi-ethnic
group. It may be their first exposure to interactive group therapy. In Mauritius, people are
mostly used to education presented in the form of talks, seminars or reading articles in the
media. Due to this reason, leaders will take care to use images of popular local
metaphors/idioms, e.g. “met petrol dan diffe”, i.e. “adding fuel to fire”. They will also
introduce local games in dyads, e.g. ‘la pogne’ a strength game, a win-lose game, to
introduce people to talking about how they felt losing or winning. This can be used as an

avenue to enter the men’s personal stories that cause them to inflict violence. Leaders
will be using self-disclosure to establish trust. They will model group process and take
care to build an egalitarian relationship as per feminist principles (Brown, 2010).
Mahalik recommends the use of cognitive therapy. This approach is congruent
with men’s socialization experiences because it focuses on cognitions rather than the
expression of emotions and involves a problem solving or action-oriented emphasis
(Brooks & Good, 2001). As a warm-up exercise, such a format will support emotional
restraint and offer practical solutions. Even though this group may be homogenous in
terms of culture, language and SES, within-group differences need to be considered to
avoid the “risk for being superficial and less creative and productive” (Merta, as cited in
Ponterotto et al., 1996). Another aspect that needs to be taken into consideration with this
group is to drop the “forceful” nature of REBT. Participants need to be slowly
acculturated to interactive group therapy. As trust builds and effects start showing the
group will naturally take its own course.
Intervention: Group Proposal: “Oui Nu Capav”
Goals and Objectives
This group will be presented as ‘Oui, Nu Capav’. In Mauritius it is a normal
practice to write proposals in English and present them entirely in Creole, especially to
low-income groups who are often targets of discrimination based on their SES.
Participants will be encouraged to decide their goals as a group. Some broad categories:
- Learning about the whys of abusive behaviors and develop alternative behaviors
- Learning about stress and stress reduction methods
- Learning about significant others and understanding them

- Understanding alcohol/drug use, recognize consumption patterns and effects
- Handling multiple roles and responsibly
SMART Objectives
- Specific: each week the new skill learned and behavior is defined and named.
Men practice using ‘I’ statements to convey feelings without blaming and come
up with examples.
- Measurable: behavior and use of ‘I’ statements can be observed. Number of times
it is used can be counted, recorded and compared to behaviors prior to group.
- Attainable: behaviors can be changed; the leader can monitor this in the here-and-
now, e.g. if a member is not participating, he can invite him to change it.
- Realistic: objectives set are all doable within sessions and at home. Participants
acquiesce to homework that is both realistic and reasonable for them.
- Time-bound: behaviors and ways of communicating will be visibly changed with
awareness and effort as sessions progress each week.
Group Membership and Pre-Session Meeting
Participants of this group are mainly heterosexual, married men with or without
children, living with their wives. They are men who are ordered by court judges or
probation officers to attend the group in lieu of a jail sentence. Members of the group are
mostly of low SES. It is expected that “Oui Nu Capav” group will have 8 – 12
participants. No attendance rule needs to be enforced due to the group’s mandatory
nature. Participants will be careful to be present in order to avoid jail. Some ground rules
will need to be enforced, e.g. no impulsive behaviors, foul language and intoxication.

Time and Frequency of Meetings
Sessions days and times will be discussed at the pre-group meeting so that
facilitators obtain potential group members’ feedback. Participants will appreciate that
they are treated with enough respect to consider their schedules. This may also enhance
ownership of the group. Previous literature on such programs has indicated that the length
of sessions may vary between 1.5 hours to an entire day. For this group, eight two and a
half-hour sessions seem ideal. A 15-minute break will be allowed. This group may be
scheduled to begin in September 2014. “Oui, Nu Capav” will be a closed group.
Group Leaders
Two counselors will co-lead the present group. At the pre-group meeting the
leaders will inform members about the reasons for designing the group, what they hope
will be accomplished, and what they expect of themselves as leaders and of the members
(Corey, 2007). Participants will learn about the facilitators’ credentials: the leader will be
a Mauritian male therapist and the co-leader, a female Marriage and Family Therapist and
a meditation instructor. Bonds-White (1996) maintains that a female therapist in an all-
men’s group creates a highly different set of dynamics than an all-male therapist team
(cited in Rabinowitz, 2001). Such a co-leader needs to have dealt with her own
psychological issues and introjections about masculinity. She needs to have empathy for
members’ life experiences (Cochran & Rabinowitz, 1996; Pollack, 1998).
Responsibilities of leaders include nurturing interpersonal trust, non-judgmental attitude,
facilitating psychological awareness, encouraging risk-taking, providing safe containment
of strong emotions and validating successes of participants (Rabinowitz, 2001).

Setting
This program will take place at the seat of the NGO. The structure of the room is
very important as “many men are uncomfortable with structureless situations”
(Rabinowitz, 2001, p. 615). Visible careful planning may help the group become more
comfortable with generating its own topics. Movable chairs and cushions will be
required. A circular seating arrangement will be preferred with co-leaders sitting halfway
in the circle, facing one another (Corey, 2007). A room with art and creative materials
would be perfect where members can engage in drawing their genograms in a color-
coded way.
Group Format
“Oui Nu Capav” is a short-term intervention program. Each session is typically
structured to include a brief didactic presentation, demos, viewing short clips, joint group
activities, dyads, role plays and individual reflections. Every session will start with
checking in with all members (first 15 minutes) who share a new insight or behavior they
practiced. In the next hour the topic of the day is introduced. Members participate and
their responses are noted on a flip chart/board. Leaders highlight material they want
participants to learn and bring up ideas that have not been mentioned. Halfway there is a
15 minute break. The final hour is spent as a joint group discussion, enactments or
individual tasks. The structure of upcoming sessions is based on topics that come up from
previous discussions. Each session closes on a positive note: the facilitator/s asks each
member to share something they enjoyed about the session, they found helpful or
acquired some significant learning. A negative feedback about group experience can also
be shared. Members can also choose to do so with the facilitators after the group meeting.

Week 1: Why are you here? Human Brain: Hand Model
- Ice breaker: Play a popular local song; participants listen with eyes closed
- Introductions: My name is …; I am from …; I am here because …; One thing
about me that you cannot see is …;
- In dyads: As I am sitting here, what I am experiencing is …
- Hand model of brain: You Tube video. “It’s our brains, not us!” Simplified
explanation of the brain and its functions. Flipping the lid, losing it (Siegel, 2007).
- Participants bring examples of when their lids flip off; demos in dyads.
- Mindfulness exercise: Focusing on parts of the body. Sharing of experiences.
- Homework (HW): Reflect on the hand model of the brain
Practice mindfulness for 10m each day, increase time
Week 2: Emotional awareness/expression, using Mindfulness
- Centering exercise, 3 deep breaths
- Explore: “Men were born feelers not thinkers!”
- Mirroring demo
- In dyads: What anxiety feels like in my body? What do I do when I feel anxious?
- Active listening, staying in the sender’s world. Receiving messages.
- Group goals, individual goals
- Visualizing their goals, involving as many sensory details as possible (guided)
- HW: one thing participants will do differently in relationship using mirroring
Week 3: Emotional facilitation of thought, using REBT
- Favorite song/poem/music; what has worked this week? (each week)

- Present A-B-C-D-E: Activating event, Beliefs, Consequence (feeling), Disputing
irrational beliefs, new Event.
- Examples of A; changing our thoughts to change actions/feelings
- Aligning the pre-frontal cortex (hand model)
- HW: Practice noticing A-B-C-D-E, bring in concrete examples
Week 4: Emotional management: Anger genogram
- Noticing the arising of sensations related to feelings of anger (Mindfulness)
- Is it wrong to feel anger?
- Sharing of experiences, consequences of anger, demo hand model
- Drawing an anger genogram, moderating one’s emotions
- HW: Devising personal strategies to deal with angry feelings
Week 5: Genogram, Family-of-origin Influences, Roles
- Simple genogram exercise is introduced: families-of-origin (FOO).
- How were they parented? How did you know that you were loved?
- Attachment, members treating their children/spouse
- Questions such as: Who made the rules in your family? What happened when the
rules were broken?
- Current behavior, influences of FOO, interrupting the cycle
- Effect on the brain structure
- HW: What are you going to do differently this week?
Week 6: Values, Purpose of life
- Swanson Group card value sort
- Where do their values originate? Members

- Draw genograms on values and beliefs. Members draw a circle around their
family values. Outside it they list social values, cultural influences that are
predominant in their family lives.
- Discuss commonalities and differences.
- HW: Men set homework they want to do on living their values during that week.
Week 7: Resolving Conflicts, Understanding Spouses
- What do they fight about?
- How they deal with conflicts with their partners?
- What strategies can they use? In dyads, they list these.
- Revisit genograms and add patterns of conflict in their FOO.
- How did people communicate in your family? How were conflicts dealt with?
- People are asked to reflect on what their part is in conflicts.
- What good comes out of conflict? (Growth increased, family communication,
brings more closeness, healthy cross-generational interactions are formed).
- Role plays on how they solve conflicts.
- HW: How would each member apply what is learned to solve a family conflict?
Week 8: Ending: Get together and Good-Bye
- Viewing of a video clip and discussion (TBD).
- Participants role play real situations where they have practiced listening.
- Members are invited to express learning points, thoughts, and feelings on
termination.
- How they plan to maintain such learning to life outside the group?
- Each participant makes a contract and devises ways to abide by it.

- Final exercise: each member is asked to have someone stick an A4 sheet on
his/her back. Members walk around in silence and write one quality they noticed
about that person.
- Overall group experience and leaders’ evaluation
PDAP Implementation
Because of the sensitivity of the gender issue in Mauritius, this group may be scheduled
to begin in as early as September/October 2014. Steps to be taken during this semester:
1. Initiate contact with potential NGOs and MGECDFW.
2. Send a brief version of this proposal to MAV and MAP.
3. Sensitize the public over the issue of DV from the ‘male’ side; a brief article may
be published in French, the most commonly-used language used in media.
Steps to be taken in September 2014:
4. Create a simple flyer with concise messages and distribute through NGOs
5. Give brief power point presentations at community centers and invite public
participation
6. Present the actual program as proposed
Expected Group Outcomes and Evaluation
- Improved behavioral stability (aim: no incidence of violence)
- Improved emotional stability and well being
- Improved communication skills with partner
- Improved mutual support system
- Alcohol/drug will be within control

To evaluate whether program goals have been met, baseline data will be collected. At the
pre-meeting session, participants will fill a self-report questionnaire. A similar mid-
evaluation, (4th
session) will be carried out. If it does not meet the expected outcomes,
then leaders will reinforce messages and offer more practice opportunities. Towards the
eighth session, group members will report marked behavior changes, healthier ways of
communicating changes and good regulation of emotions. At each stage, group members
will need to log the nature of their interactions and report urges (or not) to resort to
violence. Informal evaluation through leaders’ observations will be a regular feature of
the group process. Wives may also be asked to give feedback on their spouse’s behavior.
Impact of PDAP on Myself
The PDAP has allowed me to step into a man’s world and view issues men face through a
different lens. I realized how much I have this project at heart. I was surprised at the
dimension one social issue on a small island took and how international literature became
applicable to it. I am aware that the selected group may be a difficult population but I
thought beginning with a mandatory population could filter in the group format on the
island. The PDAP challenged my thinking on how I can transpose American counseling
theories into a local context in future counseling/advocacy work with Mauritians. Writing
this paper has given me the feel of the power of my education in influencing social
change.
Impact of PDAP on Target Group
The PDAP seems plausible as it will offer men with abusive behaviors the opportunity
for intrapersonal and interpersonal attunement (Siegel, 2007). Men would learn about

their brains, the origin of their behavior patterns and also about what women really want
from men and vice versa, in a non-threatening atmosphere provided by the group format.
It is hoped that this pilot project may be extended to those men who do not meet the
‘normal’ masculinity standards and who suffer within-group discrimination as well as
outside the male group. Covey states that “the deepest hunger of the human soul is to be
heard and understood.” Hopefully, the present PDAP will satisfy this hunger and help
people live more fulfilling lives.

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