St. Bernadette’s Residential Home : Asociación Civil Santa Bernardita

The Residential Home offers temporary refuge to children and adolescents who have been victims of sexual abuse, and who are referred by the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP). In this space, they are provided with comprehensive care, including psychological, educational, tutoring and social support, in order to process the trauma suffered and prepare them for reintegration into a safe and stable family environment. In the Home, we seek to provide them with a loving and caring environment, where the children continue with their formal education, complete their homework, receive visits from authorized family members and participate in community, and recreational activities, thus ensuring a protective environment.

Individual Therapy

The team of psychologists of the Home offer personalized therapeutic accompaniment for each child and adolescent residing in our facilities. This support seeks to facilitate the process of understanding and managing the emotional impact caused by the traumatic experiences they have lived through. The technique of active listening is used as a basis, which is essential to help children overcome the feelings of isolation, distrust and fear that they often experience. As well as emotional regulation, which allows them to learn to manage their emotions more effectively. Through these interventions, the aim is to help them understand that they are not responsible for what happened, and that they can rebuild their self-esteem, confidence and sense of security.

Group therapy

The psychologists conduct group therapy sessions on a weekly basis. The purpose of these sessions is to strengthen the social skills of the children, promoting harmonious coexistence and mutual help. In the group space, participants have the opportunity to reflect on their behavior during the week, which encourages self-reflection and personal responsibility. Through these dynamics, the aim is for each child or adolescent to become aware of his or her own actions and develop the ability to constructively question the behavior of others. This allows them to strengthen their personal security and their ability to integrate actively and positively into society. The group environment also becomes a space where they can learn to express their emotions in a healthy way and build supportive and respectful relationships. With the slogan “YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT”.

Family Therapy

The commitment of families during the recovery process is essential to the success of reintegration. For this reason, fathers, mothers or other close relatives of the residents are invited to participate in individual and group therapy sessions. These sessions are very important as they are designed to work on the family dynamics and problems that may have contributed to the child’s vulnerability, and to prepare the family to receive the child or adolescent in an appropriate manner. Likewise, during these sessions we seek to maintain and strengthen the emotional bond between children and their families, as well as provide strategies such as positive discipline, assertive communication, among others. In this way, we work to ensure that the children do not return to an environment that could jeopardize their wellbeing and that their reintegration takes place in a safe and protective environment. This process not only helps them to rebuild a solid support network, but also ensures that the emotional achievements and development acquired are maintained in the long term.

Conclusions

The work of Home goes beyond the immediate attention to the emotional and security needs of minors. For this reason, we are accredited by the MIMP as a Residential Home, and we attend cases of foreign immigrants, from Lima and the provinces.

We work to build a future where they can grow up in a healthy and safe way, with the support and accompaniment of their families and the community. This comprehensive approach seeks not only to heal the wounds of the past, but also to empower children and adolescents so that they can build a life free of violence, actively integrating into a society that supports them and respects their rights.