An introductory note from Charis's founder, Nicole Berg:
I am a coach and a former manager of an emergency shelter and crisis line for abused women. During my time at the shelter, I was struck by the cyclical nature of abuse. The same women would often come through the doors of the shelter more than once, having been abused by the same partner or a new one. People affected by abuse are rightly told that they’re not responsible for the abuse they’ve been subjected to. The downside of this is that these individuals are left feeling powerless. I’ve been asked the same question time and again in a variety of ways, ‘Are all men abusive?’, ‘Is this just my destiny?’, ‘Do I have a sign on my forehead only violent men can see?’
As the shelter had been open since 1980, we also noted a generational cycle. Grandmothers, mothers, daughters and granddaughters had all come through the doors.
Charis aims to break these cycles of abuse by supporting women through personal leadership development to remove the ‘signs’ of co-dependency described above in order to lead full, empowered, and violence-free lives.
A number of studies show that participation in life coaching programmes is associated with significant positive outcomes, including: a greater orientation toward new experiences and change; decreased depression, anxiety, and stress; increased cognitive hardiness or resiliency; an increased perception of control; and an increase in hope, a cross-situational construct which is positively correlated with self-esteem and problem-solving capabilities.
We evaluate co-dependency as a master variable correlated with a number of the above measures. Our pilot coaching programme showed a decrease from a high range to a mid-range of co-dependency on the Spann-Fischer scale after 6 months. None of our clients returned to abusive situations, despite opportunity and previously expressed desire to do so, and 50% were engaged in education, employment, or training by the end of the programme.
Our 'buy one gift one' social enterprise model described below enables us to facilitate healthy professional relationships in the workplace using transferrable skills and knowledge, as well as uniquely supporting our future sustainability.
Our corporate work:
We help companies to build healthy professional relationships and power dynamics, developing behaviours that support strong communication and conflict resolution for effective leadership through in-house training programmes and one-to-one coaching.
Charis Coaching is a social enterprise with a charitable mission to break episodic and generational cycles of domestic abuse.
Our innovative Buy One Gift One (BOGO) business model enables companies to build corporate social responsibility into their supply chains.
For each service purchased to support the development of company staff and culture, an equivalent service is delivered pro bono to women affected by gender-based violence in the Greater London community. We evaluate our programmes and report results back.
Our charitable work:
One-to-one coaching, our most specialised and in-depth offering, is a confidential, supportive, and inspiring space for individuals affected by abuse, specifically domestic abuse or modern slavery, to develop according to their individual personal, professional, and interpersonal needs.
Our Confident Career workshop focuses on effectively leading oneself through increasing awareness of strengths, resources and opportunities, and the development of tools and beliefs to empower women to take ownership of creating a new career and a new chapter of their lives. Rooted in executive coaching, Confident Career is experiential, challenging, and intuitive. It creates a safe environment for participants to:
