There are pink flyers around the University of Memphis and throughout different places in the community that encourage women who have been victims of domestic abuse to tear off a phone number and contact the Athena Project.
Although it began as a research project, the Athena Project has turned into a place of refuge for over 350 women in the Memphis community that have been victims of domestic or sexual abuse.
Dr. Gayle Beck, chair of excellence in the university’s Psychology Department, started the Athena Project in 2008. The project offers evaluations and treatments for women who are victims of domestic violence and abuse.
“I started the Athena Project because I recognized that trauma among women, intimate- partner violence survivors was a relatively unresearched area by psychologists,” said Beck.
“One of the strengths and one of the unique things about our work is that our assessment is very thorough,” said Han Tran, a graduate student who works with the Athena Project. “Sometimes women who come to us have experienced a host of symptoms and sometimes it’s very hard to disentangle those symptoms and make sense of what is going on.”
Tran said she wanted to work with the Athena Project’s Trauma, Research and Recovery Lab because she has “always been interested in PTSD,” and research shows that domestic violence and abuse is almost always associated with post-traumatic stress disorder.
PTSD usually occurs after a trauma or a life-threatening event, like domestic violence. Common effects of the disorder are having upsetting memories of the event, increased alertness or distrust, depression, and trouble sleeping.
The amount of violence and abuse that women endure affects their chances of getting PTSD, but it’s often the emotional trauma of domestic abuse that leads to the disorder.
Tran said the Athena Project is unique because of the in-depth testing it uses to diagnose and treat women. Participants of the project go to two or three mental evaluation sessions before they are diagnosed, and then are recommended for 11 to 12 treatment sessions that are personalized specifically for their needs.
“Thus far, eight women have received our treatment, and all showed symptom improvements,” said Tran.
Of the 350 women that the Athena Project has served, only eight of them have received treatment from the Athena Project lab. After being assessed, the remainder of the women were referred to other treatment facilities in the community based on their specific needs.
“Our assessment involves an evaluation of possible symptoms that may have resulted from the women’s experience with intimate partner violence,” said Tran. “Our assessment also includes questionnaires that ask them about their mood, quality of life, current living situation, etc.”
Beck said she named the project after the mythological goddess Athena because “Athena was the goddess of war and domestic arts.”
Women can reach the Athena Project at 901-678-3973 or visit memphis.edu/psychology/athena for more details.
Although it began as a research project, the Athena Project has turned into a place of refuge for over 350 women in the Memphis community that have been victims of domestic or sexual abuse.
Dr. Gayle Beck, chair of excellence in the university’s Psychology Department, started the Athena Project in 2008. The project offers evaluations and treatments for women who are victims of domestic violence and abuse.
“I started the Athena Project because I recognized that trauma among women, intimate- partner violence survivors was a relatively unresearched area by psychologists,” said Beck.
“One of the strengths and one of the unique things about our work is that our assessment is very thorough,” said Han Tran, a graduate student who works with the Athena Project. “Sometimes women who come to us have experienced a host of symptoms and sometimes it’s very hard to disentangle those symptoms and make sense of what is going on.”
Tran said she wanted to work with the Athena Project’s Trauma, Research and Recovery Lab because she has “always been interested in PTSD,” and research shows that domestic violence and abuse is almost always associated with post-traumatic stress disorder.
PTSD usually occurs after a trauma or a life-threatening event, like domestic violence. Common effects of the disorder are having upsetting memories of the event, increased alertness or distrust, depression, and trouble sleeping.
The amount of violence and abuse that women endure affects their chances of getting PTSD, but it’s often the emotional trauma of domestic abuse that leads to the disorder.
Tran said the Athena Project is unique because of the in-depth testing it uses to diagnose and treat women. Participants of the project go to two or three mental evaluation sessions before they are diagnosed, and then are recommended for 11 to 12 treatment sessions that are personalized specifically for their needs.
“Thus far, eight women have received our treatment, and all showed symptom improvements,” said Tran.
Of the 350 women that the Athena Project has served, only eight of them have received treatment from the Athena Project lab. After being assessed, the remainder of the women were referred to other treatment facilities in the community based on their specific needs.
“Our assessment involves an evaluation of possible symptoms that may have resulted from the women’s experience with intimate partner violence,” said Tran. “Our assessment also includes questionnaires that ask them about their mood, quality of life, current living situation, etc.”
Beck said she named the project after the mythological goddess Athena because “Athena was the goddess of war and domestic arts.”
Women can reach the Athena Project at 901-678-3973 or visit memphis.edu/psychology/athena for more details.