Stages of Anti-Sexist Awareness and Change for Men Who Batter (From Family Violence: Emerging Issues of a National Crisis, P 63-97, 1989, Leah J Dickstein and Carol C Nadelson, eds. -- See NCJ-114238)

• NCJ Number: 114241
• Author(s): D Adams
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 35 pages
• Sale Source: American Psychiatric Press, Inc
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: This article is based on a paper presented at the Ninety-Second Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, August 24, 1985.

Annotation

After a brief social overview of wife abuse, this chapter describes the Emerge program, a pro-feminist approach to treating wife abusers, and presents the results of a survey that measured changes in attitudes and controlling behaviors among wife abusers in confronting their violence and sexism.

Abstract

The Emerge program consists of 8 weeks of individual counseling and assessment followed by 6-10 months of group counseling and education, with a major emphasis on anti-sexist education. Participants monitor themselves through a written checklist of violent and controlling behaviors. Education also focuses on the damaging and controlling effects of each of the behaviors on the checklist. The stages of growth for abusive men include denial, disequilibrium, and decision. At the decision stage, the individual decides to become self-motivated in continuing a lifelong process of self-evaluation and growth. This involves passing from denial of problems through a disequilibrium of confusion, depression, and dependency. 36 references.