U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Going Beyond Gender-Specific Treatments in Wife Battering: Pro-Feminist Couple and Family Therapy

NCJ Number
172413
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1998) Pages: 1-15
Author(s)
B Trute
Date Published
1998
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This analysis of couple and family treatments in wife battering focuses on the theoretical and clinical issues involved and argues for the sequential use of relationship therapies as a second phase to follow gender-specific individual and group treatments of perpetrators and victims of violence.
Abstract
The feminist, sociological, and psychological perspectives have all contributed to discussions about domestic assault and its treatment. The feminist perspective has been the most persuasive. Substantial reasons exist for providing couple treatment in situations of wife abuse. It has also been important to clarify wife battering as both a criminal and a clinical problem. Sequencing of treatment is a primary concern that is guided by safety considerations. First-phase services begin by holding perpetrators responsible for their violent acts and by encouraging victims to take responsibility for their own safety. Couple and family therapy should be initiated as second-phase treatment when the battering has stopped, when the woman believes she is safe, and when both partners express a commitment to their relationship. Crucial assessment issues to consider before conjoint dyadic therapy include the victim's from physical violence during therapy, the severity of the past abuse, whether fear pervades the relationship and constrains the victim's freedom of choice, the perpetrators motive for abuse, whether the couple is in an intimate relationship, and addiction or major mental health problems. It is important to intervene at the level of the relationship after personal safety is attained to bring long-lasting and violence-free living to families. 84 references