User:Mbarekzia/Domestic violence

Management
Main article: Management of domestic violence

Management of domestic violence may take place through medical services, law enforcement, counseling, and other forms of prevention and intervention. Participants in domestic violence may require medical treatment, such as examination by a family physician, other primary care provider, or emergency room physicians.

Counseling is another means of managing the effects of domestic violence. For the victim of abuse, counseling may include an assessment of the presence, extent and types of abuse. A lethality assessment is a tool that can assist in determining the best course of treatment for a client, as well as helping the client to recognize dangerous behaviors and more subtle abuse in their relationship. In a study of victims of attempted domestic violence-related homicide, only about one-half of the participants recognized that their perpetrator was capable of killing them, as many domestic violence victims minimize the true seriousness of their situation. Another important component is safety planning, which allows the victim to plan for dangerous situations they may encounter, and is effective regardless of their decision on whether they remain with their perpetrator.

Counseling may be used by offenders to minimize the risk of future domestic violence, or to stop the violence and repair the harm it has caused. Most commonly, to date, convicted or self-referring offenders undertake programmes for perpetrators of intimate partner violence. These are delivered in a group format, one or two hours per week, over a set time period. Programme facilitators guide participants through a curriculum of adult education-style modules, which draw on a variety of therapeutic approaches, but predominantly cognitive behavioural therapy and psycho-education. A debate on the effectiveness of these programmes is ongoing. While some (ex-) partners of offenders have experienced improvements in their situation, others have not, and there also appears to be a risk of doing harm. Along with using group work, there are other approaches that incorporate individual and conjoint conversations to help stop the violence and restore the victims' safety and respect.

Prevention and intervention includes ways to prevent domestic violence by offering safe shelter, crisis intervention, advocacy, and education and prevention programs. Community screening for domestic violence can be more systematic in cases of animal abuse, healthcare settings, emergency departments, behavioral health settings and court systems. Tools are being developed to facilitate domestic violence screening such as mobile apps. The Duluth Model or Domestic Abuse Intervention Project is a program developed to reduce domestic violence against women, which is the first multi-disciplinary program designed to address the issue of domestic violence by coordinating the actions of a variety of agencies dealing with domestic conflict.

Domestic violence hotlines offer advice, support and referral services to those in abusive relationships.

Treatment methods
While domestic violence hotlines offer great support services, another method of treating survivors has usually revolved around evidence-based interventions. There are multiple methods of treatment for both victims and their abusers that include multiple types of therapy methods. Some of the methods are combined, while others use one singular method to process the trauma or behavior associated with domestic violence. Treatment methods usually differ depending on the situation which can consists of what the victim has experienced during their relationship with the offender, the abuser's behavior, if the couple wants to continue their relationship but violence is still occurring, and if the relationship has ended but still includes separate traumatic experiences after, which usually includes court proceedings, financial issues, housing, possible children, and much more.

Previous studies have shown that because symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder have been linked to victims of domestic violence, there is not any evidence to support any one method or treatment that is better than others due to a variety of variables from person to person. However, there are multiple evidence-based interventions that have been shown to be effective when treating a victim of domestic violence. Some of the most common treatment methods are psychoanalytic therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy. These two methods are usually integrated when treating mental health issues related to trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety, all of which are common in domestic violence victims. Both offer an approach that helps focus and process the traumatic experiences of domestic violence while also recognizing the self and learning to undo previous learned behaviors or mental health patterns that could be harmful if continued in the future. This is because this version of cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychodynamic therapy is trauma focused to offer the best treatment for victims.

Another common therapy method is art therapy. Art therapy is a very broad form of treatment that can help look at broad aspects of a person's life and has been very beneficial in treating a multitude of mental disorders and symptoms. When art therapy is trauma-focused, there is then certain activities that can be used that will help the person process what they have gone through in the form of different art projects or experiments. This can include different types of art forms such as painting, drawing, coloring, jewelry-making, beadwork, sewing, pottery, photography, filmmaking, and even acting. Some forms of art therapy have minimal rules and guidelines which allows the person to be able to do what they want in this type of setting, such as making a emotion wheel, whereas other therapists will often create more structure to the treatment process in order to tackle the trauma-prone and anxiety symptoms. An example of a more specific activity would be attempting to draw and do the exercise of the "angry iceberg". This type of therapy has been shown to be extremely beneficial in treating trauma-related symptoms, processing traumatic memories, and increasing overall well-being. Art therapy has also been known to help process feelings of guilt or shame when discussing previous experienced trauma, which can greatly benefit victims of domestic violence, who often times are subjected to stigmas that involve shaming the survivor or blaming themselves for staying in a harmful relationship.

Compassion-focused therapy is another widely used evidence-based intervention that is often used. This type of therapy branches from cognitive-behavioral therapy and centers around emotional healing. This type of treatment encourages people to be compassionate towards others and especially themselves. Compassion-focused therapy has a range of exercises such as exposure work, guided imagery, chair work, expressive writing, chair work, identity exercises, and much more. The focus of this treatment, is to help build a secure mental base, help the survivor feel valued, and create empathy for themselves. Because victims of domestic violence are scrutinized for their choices and stigmatized from their relationships, often times they develop shame and self-criticism, which results in deepening the trauma that is already embedded. Research has shown that women that are survivors of intimate partner violence have often benefitted from compassion-focused therapy. Compassion-focused therapy has often results in decreasing shame, increasing meaning of life, and decreasing avoidance of trauma. Cognitive distortions are often a common thought process with victims of domestic violence, and when addressed by compassion-focused therapy, it can show a reduction in the level of exaggeration or irrational thought patterns. Another common practice of this treatment is compassionate mind training which utilizes a combination of mindfulness meditation, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, and neurophysiology.

Often, when the victim of domestic violence is still in a relationship with their abuser, there are options for counseling or therapy services. Couples therapy is most often used for these kind of scenarios. This approach must be done carefully with safety in mind as the main priority. This kind of couples counseling is often referred to as domestic violence - focused couples' therapy. This type of method is solution-focused and is a very structured approach to aid in containing any potential dangers and keep in mind the safety of both partners. The initial focus is to teach the couple how to manage their conflictual behavior and then move on towards individual emotional patterns. This intervention method is most often used with couples after any sort of domestic violence has occurred. However, it can also be used as an early intervention method for couples who have criminal backgrounds and are seen as high risk for domestic violence. The initial assessments when qualifying for this kind of therapy work usually consists of assessing for future violence, potential individual therapy, and possible batterer intervention. Often times when couples are determined to stay together, this kind of intervention will then focus on the strengths of the couple as individuals, as a couple, and their relationship strength as the starting level for change. With this kind of therapy approach, there is usual a level of concern for the victim of domestic violence and a concern for increasing violence due to approaching the abuser. However, previous studies have shown that domestic violence - focused couples therapy does not increase or insinuate harm or risk to the victim. This type of therapy can benefit both the victim and the abuser by reducing overall violent behavior, increasing communication, and increasing problem-solving skills.