NCJ Number
108541
Journal
Psychotherapy Volume: 23 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1986) Pages: 607-612
Date Published
1986
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The Men's Educational Workshop Program, a behaviorally-based, short-term psychoeducational for batterers, is a 6-week series of 1.5-hour sessions.
Abstract
During the first phase, emphasis is on changing attitudes conducive to spousal violence, including blaming the victim and denial of responsibility for the behavior, lack of empathy, and negative attitudes toward women. Phase 2 provides techniques for controlling violent behavior. These include teaching men to identify social, cognitive, and behavioral cues that violence is imminent; practice time-out procedures involving engagement in alternate nonviolent behavior; communication training; and relaxation training. Of 12 men who completed 4 workshops, 11 could be followed up for 4 months. During this period, only one incident of slapping was reported, with no recurrence of the violence for the subsequent 8 months. The technique used most often by these men following participation in the group was time out. These results indicate that psychoeducational groups can effectively help abusive men eliminate violence in their relationships. 17 references.