Intimate Partner Abuse: A Case Study Involving a Father and a Son

Abstract

Intimate partner abuse cases usually center on providing services to mothers and their children. This article discusses a paradigm shift—a father—son dyad is presented—illustrating how intimate partner abuse affects their relationship. Attachment, social learning, fatherhood, masculinity, and complex trauma theories are used to ground the case. Boss’s paradigm of ambiguous loss is used to conceptualize, assess, and describe the course of treatment. Finally, recommendations to clinicians are discussed.