A Narrative Approach to Group Work with Men Who Batter

A narrative approach to group work with men who batter is presented with case examples. The approach is based in feminist and constructionist theory and seeks to expose and undermine the effects of patriarchal discourse in the lives and relationships of group members. The approach emphasizes an understanding of gender discourse, taking responsibility for actions, and exploring new definitional possibilities for participants and their relationships. The techniques of radical listening, the principle of least contest, breaking the allure of male entitlement and its effects, and cocreating a new male way of being are discussed with case examples.     

Examining Engagement of Men in a Domestic Abuse Program from Three Perspectives: An Exploratory Multimethod Study

This study addresses the limited knowledge in the field on how men initially engage in domestic abuse treatment. Interviews were conducted with a subsample of the men (n = 8), all of the facilitators (n = 4), and an engagement instrument was completed by facilitators on the full sample (N = 95). Facilitator scores confirmed men's engagement in group and that it increased over time. A majority of men and facilitators identified “learning things” as most important in the engagement process. Key elements of group process men described included the importance of learning from each other's stories, and all facilitators observed the support exchanged between the men. Research and group work implications are discussed.     

A Qualitative Look at the Perceived Strengths of Male Batterers: Implications for Intervention Programs

Currently, batterer intervention programs tend to focus on education and confrontation, with outcomes being less than promising. Limitations of current interventions have encouraged development of alternative treatment forms aimed at ending relationship violence. An emerging trend in the fields of social work and positive psychology is to build on strengths and competencies of offenders. The purpose of this qualitative study was to introduce an alternative position within the treatment field by identifying self-disclosed strengths of men who had been charged with a domestic violence offense and who were being evaluated for a voluntary batterer diversion program. A content analysis revealed competencies useful for helping men be accountable and end violence against their partners through redirecting negative behavior and identifying resources and strengths.     

Facilitating Change in Group Work with Abusive Men: Examining Stages of Change

The major focus in field instruction has historically been on the tutorial approach. In the early twentieth century the rudiments for a group approach to field instruction were conceived. Interest in groups has fueled the interest and efficacy of utilizing the group for field instruction. This paper incorporates aspects of groupwork theory, a pilot project in group field instruction and an educational model that was derived from the synthesis of some theoretical perspectives on groups, on anxiety and on experiences with the project.     

Narrative Manhood Acts: Batterer Intervention Program Graduates' Tragic Relationships

We analyze how twenty graduates of a Batterer Intervention Program constructed autobiographical stories about their relationships with women they assaulted. We focus on the presentation of gendered selves via narrative manhood acts, which we define as self‐narratives that signify membership in the category “man” and the possession of a masculine self. We also show how graduates constructed self‐narratives as a genre that was oppositional to organizational narratives: rather than adopting the program's domestic violence melodrama or preferred conversion narrative, graduates used the larger culture—especially “bitch” imagery and sometimes racialized discourse—to construct tragedies. Our study demonstrates the usefulness of narrative analysis for research on batterers' accounts and manhood acts, and also shows how oppositional genre‐making can be a method to resist organizational narratives.     

Response to Johnston and Kelly Critique of PAS Article

Abstract

This article is a response to Johnston and Kelly (2004), who critiqued our original article that criticized the theory and models that have utilized the non-empirically validated construct of Parental Alienation Syndrome. We acknowledge the areas of agreement with Johnston and Kelly, further explain some of our arguments that were not clear in the original article, and outline the few remaining areas where we have different opinions. These different opinions are almost exclusively in the attempts to apply the constructs of alienation to children who are exposed to domestic violence in their homes. Here we argue that the definitions must be more uniform with those used by the domestic violence field of study in order to better understand how to apply the results of Johnston and Kelly's empirical Studies that they describe.     

Reactions of Practitioners to the Introduction of a Standard Instrument to Monitor Clinical Outcomes

ABSTRACT

This paper describes, step by step, the efforts made by the authors to introduce a clinical monitoring system into a marital and family counselling clinic in Tel Aviv, Israel. The monitoring system which was chosen for that purpose was the McMaster Clinical Rating Scale (MCRS). Systematic training helped the counsellors to become more receptive to the idea of monitoring, acknowledge its potential utility, and try it out. However, they failed to use the instrument fully and regularly, until finally the whole effort had to be abandoned. It emerged that the assumptions underlying the system fit the agency's ideology, but not the actual practice of counselling and supervision. Furthermore, the administrative and technical environment may not have been adequate to assure counsellors sufficient rewards for compliance. A vicious circle developed: The monitoring instrument was regarded by partationoner as irrevlent as long as the information it provided was not integreated into counselling and supervision.