NCJ Number
138506
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1992) Pages: 205-217
Date Published
1992
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the use of the techniques of cognitive behavior therapy with battered women.
Abstract
Cognitive behavior therapy, which teaches individuals to identify, analyze, and change dysfunctional patterns of behavior, is a viable counseling approach to help battered women develop a solution to their abusive situation and the skills to control their lives more effectively. Battered women, who tend to feel frustrated, downtrodden, angry, depressed, helpless, hopeless, frightened, and confused, develop distorted beliefs about themselves and others that cause them significant emotional distress and behavioral disorders. Cognitive behavior therapy assumes a causal relationship between thinking, feeling, and behaving and emphasizes that in order to modify distorted beliefs, abused women must become aware of their beliefs, recognize the distortions, and replace the illogical beliefs with more appropriate and effective ways of thinking. The treatment process involves several stages: engagement, assessment, goal identification, development of an action plan and treatment strategies, and evaluation. Several cognitive behavior therapy intervention techniques often used with battered women are described: modeling, thought stopping, cognitive restructuring, reframing, and stress inoculation. 34 references