Treating the Abusive Partner: An Individualized Cognitive-Behavioral Approach / Edition 1

by Christopher M. Murphy PhD, Christopher I. Eckhardt PhD

Overview

Intimate partner violence is notoriously difficult to treat, and this promising manual presents the first one-on-one cognitive-behavioral treatment approach for this highly challenging population. Provided are a straightforward rationale and clear guidelines for implementing the authors' flexible four-phase model, which is grounded in extensive research and clinical experience. Detailed case examples illustrate the complexities of conceptualizing individual cases and working with clients to enhance motivation for change, eliminate assaultive and threatening behaviors, alter abuse-maintaining schemas and beliefs, build relationship skills, and reduce relapse risks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781593852078
Publisher:	Guilford Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	09/09/2005
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	290
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Christopher M. Murphy, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology and director of the doctoral program in clinical psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Dr. Murphy also directs the New Behaviors Program at the Domestic Violence Center of Howard County, Maryland, a comprehensive clinical training, service, and research program focused on perpetrators of intimate partner violence. His research focuses on cognitive-behavioral and motivational treatments for abusive behavior in intimate adult relationships, emotional abuse in relationships, and the links between intimate partner violence and use of alcohol and drugs. This work has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Dr. Murphy has authored more than 40 scientific articles and book chapters on the topic of intimate partner violence.

Christopher I. Eckhardt, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. His research focuses on the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral characteristics of partner-abusive individuals, with a particular emphasis on anger and hostility in this population. This work has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute of Justice, and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation. Dr. Eckhardt has authored more than 30 scientific articles and book chapters on the topic of intimate partner violence.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Forms and Patterns of Abusive Behavior
3. The Clinically Relevant Characteristics of Partner Abuse Perpetrators
4. Intervention Models and Research
5. Clinical Assessment of the Abusive Client
6. Case Formulation
7. Enhancing Motivation to Change and Engagement into Treatment
8. Relationship Skills Training
9. Cognitive Intervention Strategies
10. Trauma Recovery
11. Relapse Prevention

Interviews

Practitioners and students in clinical and counseling psychology, social work, psychiatry, and family therapy; other mental health and human service providers working with couples and families. Serves as a supplemental text in graduate-level courses in couple therapy, domestic violence, interpersonal violence, social work practice with families, and partner abuse.

Editorial Reviews

"To date, knowledge and understanding about effective treatments for domestic abuse perpetrators is limited. This book presents an empirically based approach for clinicians conducting individual treatment with this population. The authors have extensive experience working with abusive clients, and their 4-phase treatment model emphasizes the importance of individualized case formulation and the establishment of a collaborative working alliance. Throughout, the clinical examples provided are helpful in illustrating important concepts. This is an impressive book that will prove valuable to both mental health professionals and researchers in the field of domestic violence. The authors have crafted a significant work that will stimulate intervention studies as well as further clinical developments."—Cindy Miller-Perrin, PhD, Social Science Division, Pepperdine University

"This book should be required reading for all clinicians working with intimate partner abusers. It is well documented and, importantly, it comes from two authors with considerable clinical and research experience in working with physically abusive men. The book challenges the usefulness of group treatment, citing the dangers of peer reinforcement and resistance to the therapy process, and noting the very meager evidence for the effectiveness of such approaches. As an alternative, it offers an individualized treatment approach that utilizes case formulation and various means to enhance motivation. An excellent guide."—K. Daniel O'Leary, PhD, Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University

"Treating the Abusive Partner is a significant achievement, combining a comprehensive review of the research on domestic abusers with a clinically detailed, original, and effective treatment model. In emphasizing the many known differences among abusers and the importance of individually based treatment, the book offers something practical as well as intellectually stimulating for practitioners and academics alike. It is a unique and very readable contribution to the field of domestic violence."—B. J. Cling, PhD, JD, Department of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and St. John's University, New York

From the Publisher

"Valuable for mental health professionals. The authors...provide a substantive set of modules for therapeutic intervention with a troublesome client population."

PsycCRITIQUES

"The authors...move beyond existing approaches to consider relatively new applications of motivational interviewing techniques to the treatment of abusive partners, along with other new approaches....[This book] can serve as a useful introduction to the topic for practitioners new to this area, a comprehensive reference and source of new ideas for practitioners already working with court-mandated populations of abusive partners, and a nice resource for family or couple therapists likely to encounter couples experiencing partner abuse....Given that the chapters are well-organized and the book is clearly written and easy to read, it is potentially useful for graduate and undergraduate level courses to help students develop a general understanding of partner abuse theory, research, and intervention."

The Family Psychologist

"This book presents an individualized cognitive behavioral approach developed by the authors in an effort to supersede the standard group-oriented treatment approach that is commonly used in the treatment of abusive clients....A highly readable, valuable reference that will benefit both the seasoned clinician, as well as someone with little experience working with this population. The text is both interesting and informative and challenges the reader to consider a multitude of factors that may contribute to the development of abusive behaviors....I appreciated the comprehensive nature of this text and believe that the authors have developed an effective, researched-based modality for working with abusive clients."

Family Journal

"This is a remarkable and important book. Its value to all clinicians, not just those working with domestic violence, is high....The strategies and carefully laid out treatment approaches serve as a primer for those providing empirically supported, yet individualized treatments applicable to a wide range of presenting problems....While the book only contains about 250 pages of material, it is so packed with content that it reads like a book three times as thick!...Even if you are not interested in acquiring expertise in this area, this would be a book worth reading simply due to its richness regarding doing good therapy with anyone....Should be required reading for any graduate program where couples work is a part of the curriculum, whether IPV is focused on or not. It would be an excellent adjunctive text in any alcoholism or substance abuse course, due to the overlap in strategies and the comorbidities of the problems. The authors have more than met their goals and provided the field with a gem. The cost of the book, when weighed against the richness of the information it provides, makes it an extraordinary value."

Child and Family Behavior Therapy

"I would recommend this book to clinicians working with partner-abusive clients or with victims of abuse....I found the authors' use of their own practice experiences integrated with reference to the existing research on partner abuse to be an effective teaching tool....The authors should be applauded for their contribution to practice knowledge with a challenging, often stereotyped clinical population."

Clinical Social Work Journal