11/14/12, 11/28/12, 12/5/12, 12/12/12, 12/19/12, 1/2/13, 1/9/13, 1/16/13, 1/23/13, 1/30/13, 2/6/13, 2/13/13
Wednesdays 6:00pm – 8:00pm
CONNECT welcomes back the return of the popular CONNECT Training Institute course Understanding Men Who Batter & Abuse (UMBA), facilitated by the exceptional Dr. John Aponte and Pam Edstrom, LMSW. At a time when the city has decreased funding for Batterers’ Programs and the evident lack of Batterers’ groups in NYC, UMBA’s goal is to remedy this setback. This 12 week course trains participants to investigate their own gender socialization and experiences with violence. This course helps develop the in-depth knowledge and skills required for participants to work with abusive men in the current work practice. It is part of a two part course series, the second part is the Batters’ Intervention course. Understanding Domestic Violence: Essentials and Intersections is a prerequisite.
John Aponte, Psy.D., specializes in working with men who are violent in their relationships with women. Dr. Aponte is a retired Police Officer who has been working in the field of Family Violence for almost twenty years. Dr. Aponte was a Police Psychologist with the New York City Police Department, before retiring in 1985. In 1984, Dr. Aponte began consulting with Victim Services Agency and helped to develop the first Batterers’ Project for the Brooklyn courts. He became the Director of the Alternatives to Violence Program at Victim Services in 1985. In 1996, he became the Clinical Director of the Family Violence Prevention Program at the New York Center for Neuropsychology and Forensic Behavioral Science (New York Forensic). Currently, Dr. Aponte is an instructor for the CONNECT Training Institute’s Understanding Men who Batter & Abuse and the Batterers Intervention courses. Dr. Aponte has trained and still mentors 100’s of men and women that have gone to do extensive work and that have become innovators in the work with abusive partners throughout the country. Dr. Aponte is a member of the American Psychological Association and a member of the Association of Hispanic Mental Health Professionals.
Pamela Edstrom, LMSW, provides training and staff development specializing in family violence (domestic violence, child abuse/neglect, and child sexual abuse), parenting, grief & loss, interpersonal/communication skills, group dynamics, conflict intervention, cultural competency, stress & time management and team building. Ms. Edstrom was the Director of Training for the NYC Human Resources Administration Office of Domestic Violence for many years and has a Masters in Social Work from Columbia University. Her undergraduate degree is in Zoology from the University of Denver. Currently, Pam is adjunct faculty for the CUNY Hunter School of Social Work and the Borough of Manhattan Community College. She is also a member of the Batterer’s Workers Intervention Task Force and is on the Domestic Violence Advisory Sub-Committee for the Administration of Children’s Services.
