Society has instigated diverse responses in an attempt to end domestic violence in intimate relationships, which has plagued our society and deeply hurt our families and children. Helping professionals are constantly in search of effective ways to provide treatment for domestic violence offenders, although such a search is haunted by hope, promises, and controversies. This book describes and evaluates a solution-focused group treatment program for domestic violence offenders. This is a goal directed, solution-based, group treatment program that utilizes goals to create a context for participan ... More

Society has instigated diverse responses in an attempt to end domestic violence in intimate relationships, which has plagued our society and deeply hurt our families and children. Helping professionals are constantly in search of effective ways to provide treatment for domestic violence offenders, although such a search is haunted by hope, promises, and controversies. This book describes and evaluates a solution-focused group treatment program for domestic violence offenders. This is a goal directed, solution-based, group treatment program that utilizes goals to create a context for participants to identify, notice, rediscover, and reconnect with their strengths and resources in addressing problems with domestic violence. Building on a strengths perspective, a solution-focused approach holds a person accountable for solutions instead of focusing on problems. Without minimizing or denying the destructiveness of violent behaviors, such an approach aims at empowering a person so that she or he can discover and/or reconnect with his or her strengths and resources to build a more satisfying life that excludes violence in intimate relationships. Such a treatment approach uses the language and symbols of “solution and strengths” as opposed to the language of “deficits and blame.” Treatment focuses on identifying exception and solution behaviors that are then amplified, supported, and reinforced through a solution-building process. This book describes a pragmatic, step-by-step, “how-to” description of what helping professionals can do in treatment to create positive changes in domestic violence offenders. This is a treatment guide from intake to termination, capitalizing on participants' strengths and goal accomplishment to encourage and assist their efforts to eliminate and exclude violence from intimate relationships.