Citation

Langlands RL, Ward T, Gilchrist EA. Behav. Change 2009; 26(2): 113-129.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Australian Behaviour Modification Association, Publisher Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1375/bech.26.2.113

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Domestic violence is a pervasive social problem that has devastating emotional, physical, psychological, and financial costs for individuals, families, and communities. Despite the widespread use of current intervention programs, recent reviews have demonstrated that these have only a small impact on the reduction of recidivism. In this article, we briefly summarize the features identified in the literature that distinguish domestically violent men from those who do not engage in such behaviors. We then explore the most common interventions used to treat domestic violence offenders and discuss the limitations of these interventions, before outlining the assumptions of the Good Lives Model (GLM), a strength based approach to the treatment of offenders. We discuss the advantages of using the GLM compared to existing approaches and finally, we consider future directions for the use of the GLM in domestic violence interventions.