NCJ Number
82715
Date Published
1982
Length
61 pages
Annotation
A spouse abuse program which used the same model of services as an effective program for child sexual abuse cases is described and assessed.
Abstract
Parents United, Inc. (PUI), in conjunction with the Child Sexual Abuse Treatment Program (CSATP) of Santa Clara County, Calif., developed a model for treating child sexual abuse cases that involves professional counseling integrated with a self-help group milieu to promote the resocialization of dysfunctional families, as well as providing an additional or alternative family support system. The project reported on was designed to demonstrate the effectiveness and transferability of the PUI/CSATP model to cases of spouse abuse. The three-pronged approach of the project involves (1) developing a treatment program to heal and preserve the family unit (this program to be modeled after the PUI/CSATP program); (2) involving the criminal and juvenile justice systems, social services, and community program in the process of rehabilitating families experiencing domestic violence; and (3) providing public information, education, and training in recognizing and treating spouse abuse. The project found that families experiencing spouse battering are more difficult to rehabilitate than those experiencing child sexual abuse. Although the staff found that the etiology of both types of families and family members are the same, there is a difference in the way the community and families themselves view the presenting symptoms. (Spouse abuse does not evoke the degree of outrage in the community evoked by child sexual abuse.) Cooperation with criminal justice agencies has failed because of policy differences, and liaisons with other community organizations and agencies have been slow to develop. Materials used in the program are appended, including a report on methods of treatment of spousal abuse cases, counseling methods and techniques, and a description of program participation and breakdown of counseling.