The authors discuss what types of families are violent, how common and domestic violence is, the context within which battering occurs, characteristics of individuals who seek treatment, and the importance of working with violent families. Procedures for assessing spouse abuse are described for situations where the woman presents as the client, the man presents separately, a couple or a family come in for treatment, and children are involved. Spouse abuse treatment is examined in terms of crisis intervention, short-term therapy, and long-term therapy and in terms of establishing goals for working with battered women. Guidelines for therapy with the batterer, couples, and children are also presented. A self-quiz to determine knowledge of partner abuse is included. 64 references and 6 tables