Synonyms
Domestic violence; Intimate partner violence; IPV; Partner violence
Introduction
Approximately 24% of all intimate relationships experience some forms of violence, and between 36% and 58% couples who are seeking therapy have experienced physical violence in their relationships (Jose and O’Leary 2009). However, not all couples who experience violence in their relationships are the same, nor are they all appropriate for couples therapy. Johnson (2008) identified different typologies of violent relationships, two of the most commonly recognized being intimate terrorism and situational couple violence. Intimate terrorism is characterized by asymmetric violence that is used as a means to control one’s partner. Couples experiencing intimate terrorism are generally not considered appropriate for couples treatment (Stith et al. 2011). Situational couple violence is characterized by less severe violence that is often bidirectional in nature and typically a response to a specific...
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Spencer, C., Mendez, M., Stith, S. (2019). Couple Violence in Couple and Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_446
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_446
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