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Resource

The GOGL Model
information for practitioners, services and commissioners
 

What is GOGL?

GOGL is a digital self-delivered programme that supports escape, crisis management and long-term recovery from abusive relationships - with three entry points, into three journeys that are tailored to the needs of each.  All of the journeys expand into the full programme, as the person in need maintains being outside of their relationship and engages with the programme:

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  • Supporting escape: The get out components of the programme are introduced early with psychological support to enable people to see their experience in the context of confusion, dissociation, trauma and an addictive cycle - supporting the arrival of the much discussed 'Aha' moment that many people report, waking up to and realising their reality'.
    Market Need: Designed to compliment existing services that support / enforce relationship breaks or exits (DA services, refuges, police services and social services).
     

  • Supporting crisis: the programme is stacked heavily towards 'Staying Out' as its primary message: education and support.  This includes psychological exercises that promote insight alongside an embedded self-compassion programme to manage the emotional challenge and emotional regulation needs of those who have escaped.  The GOGL programme is working with legal advice services to add additional resources relating to the legal journey, for those who go to court, and what to expect / how to best manage the experience.
    Market Need: Designed to compliment existing services that support those in early exit (legal services, DA services, MH services, Employee Assistant Programmes (EAP)), also a direct access service for those who prefer an anonymous or digital service.
     

  • Long-term recovery: identified as the largest gap in the sector - GOGL offers people a programme that provides 12 months + support, via a programme that takes 6-9 months to self-complete with access to extensive resources for the extended period.  
    Market Need: Designed to support people in the community who want to recover once stabilised and safe.  Also designed to support exit from shorter term DA service support for those exiting a refuge, a short term trauma therapy / group, a short term crisis programme etc.  Offering the sector a long-term intervention to support longer term recovery.

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GOGL is proposed as a compliment and not a replacement for any mental health need that is severe (PTSD, suicidal thoughts, self harm, significant trauma) but is proposed as a referral route after such therapies are complete, to continue the recovery process in the long-term.  It can also be considered as an option for long-wait times in services, where paths for emerging risk identification has been outlined with commissioners.

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The Need

Domestic abuse (DA) is highly prevalent in the UK (5.5% of 16-74 years olds) with

the impact cost to the UK government being £66 billion as of 2019 (DA Act, 2021).

Prevalence increased between March 2019-20 by 6% (ONS, 2021), alongside

support service costs. Recent high profile media cases have further contributed to

raising people's own awareness that they may be (or have been) in abusive

relationships and need support, and to raising discussion of the challenges of

gender inclusive or exclusive support.

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The population of DA survivors is vast and many are in need, but not all are in crisis. Coercive control is a recognised form of DA and is reported as an experience by 40-80% of women and 30% of men. The GOGL approach is a de-stigmatised and positive approach to understanding past experience, recovery and the development of self-worth. We believe this wider pool of non-crisis DA survivors is a potential hidden health need, experiencing recovery impact from bad relationship experiences.

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Estimates put health care costs of DA at £2.3 billion (Home Office, 2019) with the mental health bill alone estimated to be £180 million (Järvinen, 2008). This likely being a vast underestimate, due to under-reporting

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There is very little evidence pertaining to long-term recovery models for domestic abuse and almost no services in existence that offer full recovery interventions as long-term offers.  Most DA services are designed to meet the risk and crisis needs of clients, with capacity outstripped by demand and access inequalities observed across regions, sexes and sexualities of people in need.  We have repeated observations of commissioned services meeting demand by utilising students / unqualified counsellors - which is alarming in the context of how complex the need is for most DA cases.

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GOGL has been designed to plug these gaps - to support scale up, research and inclusivity alongside economical savings for the UK and sector.

Where GOGL aims to help...

GOGL in context alongside DA services.png

Why trust GOGL?

GOGL has been developed by Chartered Psychologists, founded and led by Dr Craig Newman (Clinical Psychologists and Behavioural Economist).  

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The model was created as a response to Craig's own experience of domestic abuse services and support models, many years ago, as a client himself.

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After much research it was clear that a recovery model has not been proposed, rather discrete models that address trauma, C-PTSD, education on abuse, boundary setting and specific mental health programmes based on identified need.  Recovery in the sector is mostly seen as a short term need, with longer term needs based on mental health experience significant enough to merit mental health service input (but not as a DA referral route, purely mental health).

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The GOGL model brings together the current understandings, theories and methods into a blended approach that assumes a long term need and changing need over time.  The primary programme, although adapted in emphasis for the 3 journeys described above, includes:

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  • 1. Getting Understanding: Psychological education and reflection to support full trauma recovery - adding in the understanding needed to explain your own journey into abuse, grooming, the toleration, experience of love (addiction), the emotional consequence and the confusion and loss of self that arrives over time.  Much of this is missing in most programmes and what is heard most often from long-term survivors is, "I still don't know why I stayed"... this presenting a real risk in terms of recovery from trauma and a recognised need in most models of trauma recovery (retelling and processing past experience into an acceptable narrative).
     

  • Getting Out: The programme is committed to a get out and stay out approach to recovery, providing significant support on a zero contact approach to DA recovery.  This section includes practical support but also specific education and therapeutic tools to empower people to manage fear, obligation, guilt and shame - which are primary emotions that surface in cycles of abuse.  The addiction to abuse model is set heavy in this approach, and the therapeutic model assumes an addiction to the relationship and provides much resource to combat the pull back to the relationship.
     

  • Get Love: based on a recognised model of codependence being linked to self-worth (self-love), the programme supports identify management, closure and self-worth development as a longterm development and maintenance approach.

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GOGL is informed by Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT, including CBT models of trauma recovery and emotional regulation), addiction recovery approaches, narrative therapy (for trauma), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, for emotional regulation and shame), Compassionate Mind Therapy (for acceptance and self-worth development) and relational psychology models.

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The model is also written into a self-help book, to be published in 2023 by Stoughton (in the UK and US).

Why trust us?

Dr Craig Newman is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist, HCPC registered.  In addition  22 years in the NHS, he has also led and delivered a range of digital services into the NHS (and other countries) that have created significant system and social impact - both saving the NHS millions and saving lives, across sectors.  Craig is also an NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellow.  His work has earned him healthcare awards and nominations.

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Craig and the wider team are detailed more in our 'Our Team' Page.

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Research

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Craig has led/co-led over £2.2 million pounds in healthcare related grants, including NIHR research.  All of his work is built on the premise that the intervention is iterative - striving for impact and shaping around user experience as data is returned.  This is done within safe and governed environments.  The wider GOGL team include experienced researchers at a national and international level, all committed to high standard and robust methods that stand to peer scrutiny.  The collective team have supported the training of 100s of MH clinicians and designed or co-led over 100 healthcare service evaluation / development projects.

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GOGL pilot studies are already in partnership with University ethics, with the aspiration to publish into this sector.

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Future aspirations include data sharing with partners and research collaborations with University Psychology departments.

Impact to services and the UK

It is our goal to create a spreadable service that becomes incredibly economical and accessible to services.  This is supported by accessing both 3rd sector, public sector and corporate organisations with need - and price pointing the project towards accessibility for those less financially capable.  Access is the goal for us, this being the driver from the founder after his own experience of services.

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Societal Benefit (aspired):

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  • Evidence the potential of a model of care that can support DA victims with identified potential to generate income via identified income streams: reducing the burden on the public purse.

  • An accessible alternative support route that offers beyond existing digital products that support reducing violence, escape and/or connecting to person-based support (see sector review by Emezue et al, 2020). 

  • An offer from an eHealth experienced specialist that cuts through the innovation barriers reported by DA services, including, "device, information technology troubleshooting issues, data privacy, and data mining worries" (Emezue et al, 2020) and the budgetary constraints of services. Enabling a service solution outside of the technological and financial restraints of both public and third sector providers, where state funding is directed.

  • The utilisation of technology that increases safety, when accessing support. We plan to design our future app to include offline content downloads (via public wifi for example), covert authentication, anti-violence technologies and app masking approaches to ensure that access to the programme supports low resourced individuals alongside increasing the safety of access in risky contexts -- this being a known risk of accessing hotlines and websites etc.

  • Provide a low carbon cost option that income generates and supports referrals out of the NHS and DA services as national impact. International potential for the programme, could see financial return from other countries support job creation and taxation in the UK. 

  • A model that will be research led and data will be made available to public sector research capable partners.

Our progress, how to be involved

How to access

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The GOGL programme is expected to launch in March 2023, with a subscription model available to the public and a reduced cost model available for services (license purchases).  This will include journeys 2 and 3 (in crisis (already left and wanting to stay out & long term recovery).  Journey 1 (needing to escape) will be launching in the summer.

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Contact us to discuss licenses for your organisation, or to arrange a free taster.

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Collaborative research invitations

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We are looking for commissioners who would like to discuss a funded evaluation or small scale pilot, with reporting options.

We are looking for charity leads to support collaborative funding applications for evaluation or adaptation to your specific needs (e.g. sexual violence services).

We are looking for reviewers to support the spread of GOGL into the awareness of regional services.

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Please feel to reach out to us on any of these or other ideas that fit your need.

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