NCJ Number
224328
Journal
Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma Volume: 17 Issue: 1 Dated: 2008 Pages: 80-102
Date Published
2008
Length
23 pages
Annotation
More than a decade after Harway and colleagues’ study (1993) of mental health providers’ ability to perceive accurately the presence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in couples presenting for therapy, the current study replicates the study with the expectation that today’s therapists are better prepared to identify IPV within a clinical vignette.
Abstract
Whereas Harway and colleagues found that 40 percent of sampled mental health professionals failed to identify IPV within a vignette and that 46 percent suggested interventions that were ineffective or inadvertently risk-producing, in the current study, only 13 percent of respondents failed to identify IPV within the relationship; and approximately 80 percent suggested some type of crisis intervention as a therapeutic approach. Unexpectedly, however, the current study resembled the findings of Harway and colleagues’ study in findings that only one respondent, a clinical social worker, identified possible lethality as a clinical issue. The results suggest the importance of increased training about and exposure to IPV issues in order to increase therapists’ effectiveness in dealing with IPV in clients’ lives. Mailing lists of respondents were compiled from online Web sites currently maintained by 15 U.S. States with independently licensed psychologists, clinical social workers, and marriage and family therapists. Recruitment of respondents was done by mail and consisted of a packet that contained an informed consent cover letter and a copy of the therapist survey questionnaire. Respondents were instructed to read the case vignette and respond to a series of open-ended questions. Information is provided on data management and coding, the demographics of the sample, gender by type of mental health profession and level of education, and gender and theoretical orientation. 4 tables and 21 references