Treating Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse

Abstract

This chapter describes some of the most widely used approaches to treatment and articulate some of the challenges that arise in trying to treat intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) perpetrators in a correctional setting. The focus is on violence that is perpetrated by men on women. The insight model reflects an individual psychodynamic approach to treatment which focuses on understanding underlying psychological causes of violence. The ventilation model conceptualizes IPVA as an artifact of suppressed anger and emotional repression. The most widely adopted treatment approach is the "Duluth" psycho-education model. The underlying program theory asserts that the primary cause of IPVA is ..