Conjoint Therapy - Staff Training and Treatment of the Abuser and the Abused (From Abusive Partner - An Analysis of Domestic Battering, P 198-215, Maria Roy, ed. - See NCJ-91082)

• NCJ Number: 91091
• Author(s): J Geller
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: Van Nostrand Reinhold
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Conjoint therapy, in which both the batterer and the victim take part, is the treatment of choice if an abused wife chooses to remain in the marriage.

Abstract

in such situations, the abuse represents a fixed pattern of behavior based on an interaction between both partners. One partner cannot be without the other. However, the violent behavior is the sole responsibility of the violent partner. Nevertheless, from a systems perspective, the most effective method of treatment is to work with the system and thereby to change the environment in which a person lives. The couple needs to replace their suspicion and mistrust with ways to living together with mutual understanding and with mature love. The woman usually makes the initial contact asking for help. Although the initial session is one of the most critical points in the treatment of abusing couples, it is often difficult to achieve a conjoint first session. The therapist must resist the temptation to rescue the victim by seeing her individually. Therapists working with abusive couples must also have the chance to explore their own feelings and reactions to abusing couples. Creating this atmosphere must be formalized and structured. Therapists working as private practitioners should also obtain supervision either with peers or by buying supervision. Feedback from other professionals is one way of safeguarding a therapist as well as of providing a second opinion. Thirteen references are provided.