A Qualitative Study Using a Systemic Perspective Exploring the Remediation of Abusive Interactions in Intimate Heterosexual Couples

Abstract

Very little attention has been paid to both partners beliefs about why violence in their previously abusive relationship has stopped or significantly reduced despite well-documented details in the research literature outlining the characteristics of both victims and perpetrators. This study aimed to provide some understanding of how each partner believed that the violence has ended. However their answers often were not definitive; instead, they uncovered the complexities in their relationship and their struggle to overcome the uncertainty they have to achieve and maintain successful remediation. The article is based on a qualitative Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study that explored the nature of the relationship between six heterosexual couples before and after a therapeutic intervention for the men perpetrators, which followed the Duluth Model. The study included how they both understood the violence and how they maintained nonviolence in their relationship. The men were notably still in the process of reprocessing their understanding of why they were violent and they needed to further understand their reactions to maintain their nonviolence. The IPA themes provided some understanding of how the participants thought they had a better understanding of the factors that had maintained their relationship since the termination of the intervention. The themes, generated from the interviews provided by the perpetrators and their victims, are explored and some explanations for the successful continuation of their relationship following treatment are suggested. Implications for widening the treatment options for men perpetrators are suggested in addition to providing treatment options for couples who wish to remain within their relationships and need help to identify unhelpful and dangerous patterns of interaction.