The first section provides information needed to work with abused women. Issues considered are reasons women stay with their abusers, the nature and effects of abuse, characteristics of many abused women and many male batterers, the abused woman who seeks to react to the abuse based on her Christian faith, and communicating with the abused woman. Other topics addressed are active listening, the importance of avoiding invalidating the abused woman's experience, the design of a safety plan with the abused woman, and avoidance of couples counseling. Section 2 focuses on battered women in support groups. Guidelines and information pertinent to group work include phraseology for group discussions, discussion guidelines, instructions for recovery growth steps, and visualizations that help abused women to relax. Also discussed are abused women who can sabotage the group discussion and abused women who need new reinforcements. Section 3 discusses components of lesson plans and the organization of meetings, followed by 12 lesson plans for group sessions with abused women. Also provided are 23 readings and 10 handouts. 37 suggested readings and a list of resources