The Science-based Treatment, Accountability, and Risk Reduction for Sexual Assault (STARRSA) Active Psychoeducation (AP) is a program designed to address sexual harm in a college student population. The STARRSA AP Program utilizes a multi-modal, empirically informed approach to identify knowledge gaps related to risk factors and increase knowledge about protective factors of students who have engaged in sexual misconduct.
Mission: The STARRSA AP mission is to be consistent with and complement University of Michigan policies that are designed to address campus sexual misconduct, hold those responsible accountable, and assist those who have engaged in sexual misconduct in developing beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that promote healthy, consensual, and safe intimate relationships and sexual behavior.
Message: “Why Active Psychoeducation?” This program utilizing active psychoeducation is a pioneer in addressing sexual misconduct. Participants play an “active” and engaged role in their education instead of being passive listeners or consumers. By adding the “active” piece, we hope to instill a greater behavioral change. It is an acknowledgment that education and behaviors are related to our minds.
For who: The STARRSA AP program's target population is the “emerging adult” undergraduate student who has violated university policies regarding sexual misconduct. Participants receive an individualized curriculum based on assessment and self-identified goals and values alongside a trained facilitator. Participants typically complete 8-20 one-on-one sessions, and the program requires a 2-6 month commitment. Students who would benefit most from STARRSA AP exemplify:
- The student clearly appreciates the wrongfulness of sexual and gender-based misconduct
- The student lacks knowledge about consent
- The sexual misconduct is limited to one instance and seems uncharacteristic, if applicable
- The student’s social orientation generally is prosocial and empathic toward others
- The student generally associates with a positive peer group
- The student is well-motivated to prevent further instances of sexual misconduct
Student Testimony: “STARRSA has had a profound impact on my life. While it was incredibly daunting, and in a way, extremely terrifying to start, conquering that fear and starting the program was the best possible thing that could've happened to me at that point in my life. I've learned so much about communication, thoughts, feelings, and about myself. …Even though my time in the program is over, the lessons I learned are some that I will carry with me wherever I go for the rest of my life, and will continue to help me grow in more ways than I could ever imagine.”
Modules:
- Module 1: Orientation, Assessment, & Psychoeducation Planning
- Module 2: Sexual Behavior & Sexual Misconduct
- Module 3: Focus on Socialization & Sexualization in Society
- Module 4: Understanding & Resolving Risks for Sexual Abuse
- Module 5: Holistic Masculinity
- Module 6: Consequences of Sexual Abuse & Effects of Sexual Misconduct on Victims/Survivors and Others
- Module 7: Behavior is a Choice: Choosing Wisely
- Module 8: Healthy Relationships
- Module 9: Making Amends & Making a Difference
- Module 10: Wrapping Up & Going Forward
- Module 11: Sexual Citizens
Helpful Documents:
Resources:
Confidential Resources
- Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) | 24-hour line: 734-764-8312: Free, confidential services for U-M students
- Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC) | 24-hour crisis line: 734-936-3333: For U-M students, faculty, and staff who are survivors of sexual assault, relationship violence, stalking, and sexual harassment
- Michigan Men: For U-M students, education on healthy masculinity
- Sexual Assault Services at University Health Services (USH) | (734) 764-8320: UHS provides medical services for U-M students, faculty, or staff who have experienced sexual assault, including sexual assault medical exams conducted by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE)
- University Ombuds | 734-763-3545: Free, confidential advice and resources for U-M students.
- Wolverine Wellness | 734-763-1320: Free, confidential services for U-M students around topics of well-being
- [Local Resource] SafeHouse Center | (734) 995-5444: SafeHouse Center is a nonprofit organization, external to the University, that provides safety, support, advocacy, and other resources for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence and their children living, working, or having experienced sexual assault or intimate partner violence in Washtenaw County:
Ask Questions, Get Connected
- CEW+ | (734) 764-6360: Education, [confidential] counseling, advocacy initiatives, and other resources to help students, faculty, and staff reach their academic, financial and professional potential.
- Dean of Students Office (DOS) | (734) 764-7420: Non-confidential assistance with any matters that may interrupt the life of a student, including navigating academic, personal, and community impact of sexual and gender-based misconduct matters, connecting to other support and resources, and information on policy and procedures:
- Respondent Support Program: Dedicated staff trained to provide direct support to U-M student respondents who are involved in reports of sexual and gender-based misconduct.
- University of Michigan Police Department Special Victims Unit (UMPD SVU) | (734) 763-1131: In addition to criminal investigation, UMPD’s Special Victims Unit assists those who have experienced sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking or child abuse connect with a variety of resources including medical assistance, safety planning, personal protection orders, housing/academics/transportation/work accommodations, counseling and support groups and legal advocacy
- Spectrum Center | (734) 763-4186: Education, advocacy, community-building programs, and resources to enhance the campus climate and support services for LGBTQ+ students, staff, and faculty.
Book Recommendations
Sexual Citizens: Sex, Power, and Assault on Campus: Jennifer S. Hirsch and Shamus Khan
Sexual Citizens transforms how we understand and address sexual assault. Through intimate portraits of life and sex among today’s college students, Jennifer S. Hirsch and Shamus Khan present an entirely new way to understand sexual assault. Their insights transcending current debates about consent, predators in a “hunting ground,” or the dangers of hooking up.
Sexual Citizens reveals the social ecosystem that makes sexual assault a predictable element of life on a college campus. The powerful concepts of sexual projects, sexual citizenship, and sexual geographies, provide a new language for understanding the forces that shape young people’s sexual relationships. The result transforms our understanding of sexual assault and provides a new roadmap for how to address it.
Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture: Roxane Gay
In this valuable and revealing anthology, cultural critic and bestselling author Roxane Gay collects original and previously published pieces that address what it means to live in a world where women have to measure the harassment, violence, and aggression they face, and where they are “routinely second-guessed, blown off, discredited, denigrated, besmirched, belittled, patronized, mocked, shamed, gaslit, insulted, bullied” for speaking out. Contributions include essays from established and up-and-coming writers, performers, and critics, including actors Ally Sheedy and Gabrielle Union and writers Amy Jo Burns, Lyz Lenz, Claire Schwartz, and Bob Shacochis.
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love: bell hooks
In The Will to Change, bell hooks gets to the heart of the matter and shows men how to express the emotions that are a fundamental part of who they are—whatever their age, marital status, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. But toxic masculinity punishes those fundamental emotions, and it’s so deeply ingrained in our society that it’s hard for men to not comply—but hooks wants to help change that.
Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity: Peggy Orenstein
Drawing on comprehensive interviews with young men, psychologists, academics, and experts in the field, Boys & Sex dissects so-called locker room talk; how the word “hilarious” robs boys of empathy; pornography as the new sex education; boys’ understanding of hookup culture and consent; and their experience as both victims and perpetrators of sexual violence. By surfacing young men’s experience in all its complexity, Orenstein is able to unravel the hidden truths, hard lessons, and important realities of young male sexuality in today’s world. The result is a provocative and paradigm-shifting work that offers a much-needed vision of how boys can truly move forward as better men.
Contact:
For more information about the STARRSA Program, please contact [email protected]
If you are a graduate student in the MSW program or related program, or a professional staff member at the University of Michigan interested in facilitating STARRSA AP at the University, please contact [email protected] stating your interest.
If you are part of a university or department interested in pursuing training in STARRSA, we encourage you to reach out to Klancy Street, LLC for a training consultation. You can contact them via their online contact form: https://klancystreet.com/contact-us/