Sharing key points discussed so far

As the Ake pilot takes off, we’ve had enriching discussions with staff from the involved agencies about implementing Ake when working with men who use violence. A quick thank you to the staff involved in our pilot for embracing Ake in their practice and dedicating time to these insightful conversations. A couple of points we’d like to share for this month’s blog post stood out from these conversations, which we touched on below.

• Ake and its features serve as an expansion of the facilitator toolkit. One concern that emerged was the potential for features like Discussions to be misused early in group settings, prompting dialogue about post-moderation and the responsible use of this feature. The resolution that stemmed from this conversation was that not all app features need to be utilised from the outset. Instead, we should view Ake as a toolkit where selecting the right tool at the right moment can have the best impact. At the end of the day, the facilitator will know best, and the app will provide more options for enrichment and enhancement of the intervention.
  
  The conversation evolved to suggest that once trust is established within the group during sessions, initiating a mid-week discussion on the app could then foster a more empathetic environment for resource sharing and seeking support. On top of this, we are looking into a feature where Coaches can approve posts before they are shared with everyone involved in a discussion. A final thought was that misuse of the app by service users, while still seen as inappropriate behaviour, at least provides opportunities for the facilitator to question the user about the behaviour as a part of the intervention. Questions like “Why did you feel that you wanted to post that in the discussion?” or “What is going on for you to want to use the app in that way?” may provide better insights into the deeper issues that particular service user is facing rather than summing it up to programme resistance.
  
  
• Utilising Ake for service users in a holding pattern for intake or assessment. We had an interesting conversation with agency staff who experience programme capacity issues, especially around the issue of men waiting for services dropping out due to the lack of engagement from said service. The resulting discussion led to some great ideas around utilising Ake as a pre-programme resource. When services are at capacity, offering Ake as a resource to engage men with programme-related material could benefit both the individuals awaiting entry and the service providers. We recognise the potential to enhance program readiness by granting Ake access during this waiting period. This not only conveys a supportive message that, despite capacity challenges, there is meaningful work to be done on their journey toward family well-being and safety, but it also could assist in preventing dropouts before the programme even begins. We look forward to working with agencies to explore these concepts further.

We may share a few other great talking points in future updates on this blog. Do you have a comment or suggestion on either of these points? Or something else entirely? Let us know by using the Contact Us page.

Thanks for reading, and see you next month.