Use of CBT to Treat Victims of Domestic Violence Essay

Many women and men seek intimate relationships in order to fill their emotional needs of security, safety and love. Their journey starts off with their loved ones spoiling them with flattering gifts and emotional words. The love they feel is so wonderful and deep that they believe that nothing can come between them. They are so happy and convinced that they will live happily ever after with the one they love. Unfortunately, the fairytale they have dreamt about was only temporary and soon comes to an end. The love story they have ones longed for turns into a horrible nightmare. The emotional words they were once spoiled with turn into howling screams and name-calling. The flattering gifts turn into physical abuse. This relationship is referred to as domestic violence or intimate partner violence. This happens when a partner or significant other declares power, authority and control over the other partner. To maintain this authority and control, the abusive partner uses emotional, physical or sexual abuse over his victim (Alters 27). Victims will desperately look for an exit out of this relationship, but only to be blocked by numerous walls of the despair, fear and misery. Many people are convinced that victims have the option of leaving, but they are too weak and they choose not to. What many people don 't know is, victims of domestic violence have many reasons preventing them from leaving their abusers. In most cases the outcomes of leaving are

Many feel if they seek help, the abuser will find them and it will only get worse. The victims need to feel safe, or else they are not going to use the programs to receive help. As both of these articles reveal, these programs are not working. On the contrary, “The Seriousness of Domestic Violence Is Exaggerated” argues that it’s not because the programs are ineffective, but that it’s due to the increase in social services available. However, due to the countless studies that were done, it has been proven that this domestic abuse is a problem. Moreover, there needs to be more effort taken into putting these programs into action. Improvements in how the programs are put into practice need to be made, since how the programs are put into practice now are not efficient

The first step in helping a victim of domestic violence is understanding what it is, and how common it is in the community (Turner, 2016).

Domestic violence is the most overlooked, misunderstood offense. Anyone can go through it, but many can’t endure the pain it brings. According to (www.helpguide.org), people whose partners abuse them physically and sexually are at a higher risk of being seriously injured or killed. Most people wonder why doesn’t the victim leave the relationship, well it is not that easy. “The question, ‘Why does she stay?’ is code for some people for, it’s her fault for staying,’ as if domestic violence victims intentionally choose to fall in love with men intent upon destroying us” -Leslie Morgan Steiner (www.azquotes.com).

When a victim first decides to seek help through a domestic violence shelter they may start by reaching out through a crisis hotline service or by meeting with an advocate. Each employee and volunteer is required to go through a training to help them learn to assist with a crisis situation. A crisis hotline is available at all times for any one that feels they need someone to talk to about an abusive situation (Bennett, Riger, Schewe, Howard, & Wasco, 2004). A meeting with an advocate is beneficial when a victim wants to sit down and have a serious talk about their options for leaving their abuser and what may happen afterwards. The advocate will go with the victim to legal and medical appointments as a support system. (Bennett et al, 2004). Bennett et al (2004) reported that after following a group of women who were using an advocate services for a 10 week period, 24 percent of those women were no longer being abused by the original abuser or by another partner. This is a big step compared to the 10 percent of women who were longer being abused without any help from an

Domestic violence is a very important social problem that we must educate ourselves on because it has such a profound and negative effect on the individual(s) being abused. They are affected mentally, emotionally, physically, and I know from experience that the scars can run very deep. Being in an abusive relationship for three years was devastating to my self-image as a teenager, and because of these feelings of inadequacy, my decreasing esteem allowed me to stay in such a dangerous scenario. Healing from the negative effects of that relationship has been a difficult journey for me, and I can only imagine how much more difficult it must be for women abused for years on end. To this day, I struggle greatly with the ability to let go of my own "control"

While it affects so many people worldwide, there are still cultures to this day that follow old male authoritarian traditions. Women often choose to remain in abusive relationships because of their cultural views, their children, a lack of financial support/ help, myths surrounding intimate partner violence, patriarchy present in the relationship, and strain. The problem of underreporting not only prevents us from knowing how many become victims of such abuse, but it also pushes the problem under the rug. We need to raise awareness and show people that there are resources out there that can help a person transition into a safe living environment, far from

It is important to understand why a victim will engage with abusers in order to understand how to stop the cycle of abuse. The victim sees themselves as the problem, not the partners making it easier to blame themselves as the cause of their suffering (Nicholas, 2013). When a person leaves an abusive situation that does not always mean that it is the end of the relationship; this is particularly true if there are children or shared assets because there is a sense of obligation to remain (Baholo et al., 2015). There is little understanding into why women remain with an abusive partner, which makes it harder to track why a woman would have subsequent relationships with partners that exhibit similar abusive tendencies (Bell, Goodman, & Dulton, 2009). There is a lack of understanding of the “bigger picture” which needs to be identified and explored (Bell, Goodman, & Dulton, 2009).

Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner through physical and emotional abuse. Women are much more likely to be victims of intimate partner violence with 85 percent of domestic abuse victims being women and 15 percent being men. (http://www.americanbar.org/groups/domestic_violence/resources/statistics.html) Too many women have been held captive by domestic violence -whether through physical, financial, emotional abuse or a combination of all three- it is a serious epidemic in our society that needs attending

Some, victims of domestic violence can feel ashamed or afraid that they might be murdered, and men at times are reluctant to report a vicious occasion due to feeling embarrassed. The more refined an individual is with better paying jobs are less to be expected to be abused. Therefore, women's crisis centers and battered women's shelters are important components of prevention. These centers offer such services as protected and anonymous shelter, job training, counseling, and assistance with legal matters. strategies. When the abuser is in treatment, their partners may be jeopardized while falsely believing that the abuser is cured. It should be made clear to victim and their partners that the risk of violence still

Domestic abuse is a startling issue in today’s society, and there are many different forms of it. Domestic abuse is defined as “the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another” [1]. There are numerous forms of domestic abuse, including both physical and emotional violence. Many people who are trapped in these toxic relationships often feel helpless and worthless, and may think they have no way to escape their situation. However, with the right guidance and support, they can free themselves and emerge as a stronger person.

The reasons why women remain in abusive relationships for long periods are rather socio-cultural. Economic dependence and lack knowledge of social services to encourage and to prevent further abuse. Sometimes the inadequate reaction of competent institutions such as the police and other government departments are factors that cause women to stay in abusive environments for long periods of time. Women who received shelter, until they manage to gain their independence are less likely to return to the abuser. It is therefore important for police and referral institutions to note that the recovery from violence is a long process. Women need a period for healing, and time to gain economic, and social independence. A DV victim needs time so it is

Domestic Violence Shelters are a lifeline for victims who find themselves in imminent danger of abuse. The National Network to End Domestic Violence, (NNED) conducted a study where it was found, that within the United Stated, there are 1,905 identified domestic violence shelters accessible to help victims of intimate partner violence (NNEDV, 2013). It is within these shelters that survivors are able to regain control through specialized services designed to empower their self-perception; offering comprehensive advocacy and educational services on preventative initiatives. The fact that the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence statistic states, “1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of, some form of, physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime” (NCADV, 2015 p.1), should be unacceptable to us as a society. The goal of domestic violence shelters, given these facts, is

According to statistics found by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Every nine seconds a woman is abused by her husband or intimate partner. At least 1 in every 4 women and 1 in every 9 men have been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in their lifetime. Most often the abuser is one of their own family. Domestic violence is a problem that somehow affects every one of us in this room at some time and is actually the leading cause of injury to women -- more than car accidents, muggings and rapes combined.

Roberts states in his book that some of the factors include self-blame, denial, loyalty to the sanctity of marriage, and feeling responsible for helping the batterer. Many victims try to reach out and inform authorities about what is going on inside of the home but they are afraid. These victims will continue to be afraid, because they are going to think there is no hope for ever getting away. In order to get away from situations in domestic violence the victim need have be physically and mentally ready to get away from the situation. A support system could possibly help these victims gain the strength they need to relieve themselves from an awful situation. Group Counseling is another solution; they can find a group counseling session that has individuals with a similar situation. Individual Counseling could also be a great way to work out problems and potentially stop the cycle of domestic violence. Many people who are abusive towards their partner or spouse have never sat back and asked themselves why they act that