Brantner and Doherty (1983) define "time out" as a "period of time in a less reinforcing environment made contingent on behavior." Using time out to interrupt escalating conflict is an important first step in treating couples and families where physical and emotional abuse is present. Since a time-out failure can jeopardize further treatment, the development of effective methods for using time out is a therapeutic priority. By interpreting the family's failed attempts as skill deficits, their efforts can be reframed to facilitate their acceptance of new time- out methods. This article integrates these methods into a model that outlines six hierarchical levels of supplemental control required to inhibit destructive behavior. The six levels of time-out intervention, ranked from those that require internal control to those that impose control, are the mental pause, the informal break, the formal truce, the external intervention, the formal authority intervention, and the prolonged separation intervention. This model is designed to guide therapists in helping families strengthen their skills and choose an alternative time-out strategy when an initial method fails. 1 table and 23 references