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Abuser Education FAQ
Click on the questions below
1) I'M NOT A "BATTERER." I DON'T NEED SOMETHING LIKE EMERGE, DO I?
The term, "batterer," is one which
often has very negative connotations. It
implies repeated or severe physical violence toward a partner. Many people who
might otherwise want to stop their abuse and improve their relationships shy away from Emerge
or similar programs. At Emerge, we have a number of people coming to us
who report never having been physically abusive, but have had an
extensive history of being emotionally or verbally harmful toward their
partner or family.
Our primary goal is to help people have better
relationships by helping them to stop choosing harmful behavior. Harmful
behavior includes emotional abuse, physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual
abuse (including having emotional or physical affairs), or controlling
behavior. Also things considered minor such as alienating or
insensitive actions can be a part of a larger pattern of abuse or
control.
The answer to this FAQ is that if you have done things that have been
harmful to your partner or family, or you have had relationships that
have ended due to your behavior, you could benefit from attending
Emerge. It is not a prerequisite for someone to have been physically
abusive in order to come to groups, and in fact approximately 40% of our
clients report never having been physically abusive.
We describe this topic a bit more in our
information for clients enrolling at Emerge.
CLICK HERE for that
description. For more information on "best practices" for working with
abusers in substance abuse treatment,
CLICK
HERE. For another article addressing this question,
CLICK HERE.
2)
DOES ABUSER EDUCATION WORK?
This question is commonly asked, but does not have a simple answer.
Abuser education programs
may work for those people who take the information and use
it to stop harming others.
A comparable question might be 'Does education and treatment for
drinking and driving offenders really work?' The answer would also be
similar: someone who truly wants to stop drinking will work to do so. Someone who doesn't take such services seriously is at greater risk to
re-offend.
Ongoing studies continue to look for a definitive answer to this
question, researcher Edward Gondolf has conducted a study comparing different Abuser Education Program
formats (For more information on this study
CLICK
HERE). Another resource for this question is Jeffrey Edelson's work (for more
information CLICK
HERE).
3) WHAT ARE ABUSER
EDUCATION GROUPS?
Abuser Education groups try to help an abuser change the
harmful, abusive, controlling and violent behavior in their relationships. Abuser Education services are
usually conducted in a group format
during which educational material is presented and individual group
members discuss their actions and are given feedback on how to change
those behaviors to non-abusive ones. For more information specifically
on the Emerge model, CLICK
HERE
4)
HOW IS ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUG ABUSE DISCUSSED?
Emerge does not offer substance abuse services. Anyone who comes to
Emerge and is abusive and has any substance abuse issues has two things
to address. During group sessions we discuss how alcohol and other drugs
do not cause abuse, but may escalate it. Emerge makes referrals for
substance abuse evaluations when needed, and receives reports from
probation officers regarding mandated substance abuse testing. For an
article specifically addressing this issue,
CLICK HERE
5)
WHY CAN'T I GO FOR COUPLES COUNSELING WHEN I'M IN AN ABUSER EDUCATION GROUP?
Couples counseling can be dangerous if there is ongoing violence in
the relationship. Therapy may bring up strong feelings. In a
relationship where violence and abuse is occurring, it may make the
situation much more dangerous for the victim. Couples counseling is
designed for a situation in which both participants can be safe,
regardless of how difficult the dialogue in the session becomes.
In a violent relationship, the victim is not able to fully
participate because of the potential danger.
CLICK HERE for a Survivor's Handbook (Adobe
PDF File) that lists some reasons why couples counseling is
dangerous (starting on page 25 of the document).
In Massachusetts, abusers who enter into
abuser education groups are restricted from couples counseling unless
there has been a period of nine months with no violence due to safety
concerns and state certification guidelines.
6)
WHAT IS THE RECIDIVISM RATE FOR ABUSERS?
Measuring recidivism is difficult, since there are many types of
violence which are not easily tracked. Physical violence is the most
measurable type of domestic violence because if often results in arrests
and the event can then be quantified. However, other types of abuse,
control and violence which may not be illegal are not easily quantified
or tracked.
Clients who come to Emerge are only here for two hours
per week. Knowing what their activities are outside of group
and knowing how they are being abusive after leaving Emerge
is impossible to know unless they are rearrested. However,
there are many forms of abuse which are not illegal.
In 2004, the Massachusetts Trial Court,
Office of the Commissioner of Probation, conducted a study looking at
the success rates of restraining order violators over a six year
timeframe. It strongly supports abuser education over other forms of
treatment. To view this study,
CLICK
HERE.
CLICK HERE for an abstract of a specific recidivism study from
Edward Gondolf.
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