Therapist Blog
Effective interventions using substance abuse worksheets
February 16, 2012
In most human endeavors, some things work and others don't. Substance abuse worksheets work. In some activities, it doesn't matter so much what you choose. But in facilitating substance abuse groups, you can gain allies or make enemies by a simple word or two. The old axiom, ... continue reading »
The EX factors of facilitating effective groups of batterers and substance abusers
December 8, 2011
Success with court-referred clients
Facilitating groups for court-referred clients can be hard work: The truth is, of course, that they are criminals, an indication that they may have lousy attitudes and rebel against authority — not qualities that make them stellar group members. But running groups ... continue reading »
National Alliance of Men
September 6, 2011
Writing for the Men's Resource Center of West Michigan, I published an article exhorting men to create an organization on a national level that will prevent violent masculinity and create liberated men with new senses of integrity and compassion.
The National Organization of Women ... continue reading »
Batterer Intervention Training Survey
April 15, 2011
One of Therapist Outfitters' core missions is providing training materials for therapists and counselors leading batterer intervention groups, such as Interventions for Men who Abuse Women: Worksheets for Facilitating Domestic Abuse Groups.
To help us respond to the needs of batterer intervention services, ... continue reading »
Sources of Clients for Therapists
January 4, 2011
As therapists, we are often so consumed with our day-to-day practices that we fail to analyze the sources of our client base and our pattern of responses to them. Lynn Grodzki has been a mentor to many, providing insight into the machinations of referral sources while advocating that therapists make conscious decisions about their practices. ... continue reading »
Batterer Intervention Alliance
December 17, 2010
The Intervention Alliance
Although increasingly varied in their approach to working with abusive men, batterer intervention services (BIS) adhere to best practice that emphasizes (1) safety for women (2) accountability for abusive behavior and (3) the exclusion of protocols that might lead group facilitators to collude with batterers. BIS facilitators use instruction, ... continue reading »
Why Worksheets for Men’s Domestic Abuse Groups Work
November 6, 2010
When you use client worksheets in domestic abuse treatment groups with court-referred clients, you provide opportunities for increased focus on topics, more interchange between the facilitator and group members, and individual as well as group exploration of thinking and behavior.
Harm and Consequences of Domestic Violence
In batterer intervention ... continue reading »
Worksheets for Abusive Men’s Groups
August 6, 2010
Worksheets improve your interventions and make your counseling easier.
The question of structure vs. spontaneity in running groups is one of the most common issues that therapists face. On the one hand, we want to give batterers opportunities to talk because we know they learn best from one another. On the other hand, time is precious ... continue reading »
A Brief History of Batterer Intervention
July 22, 2010
Domestic violence is probably as old as the human race. For much of human history, male violence against their partners was not only tolerated but sometimes even encouraged.
In the 1960s and 70s the women's movement focused attention on the lack of resources available to battered women. They also identified the lack of sanctions against men ... continue reading »
Get More Clients as the Courts Choose Less Jail and More Counseling
June 14, 2010
There's a revolution in the criminal justice system: less jail and more counseling. The result of innovative programs such as Drug Court is a substantial increase of court-referred clients available to therapists and counselors. For many counselors who have struggled with creating successful counseling practices in this economic crisis, the increase in new clients is ... continue reading »
