Domestic Violence: Counseling Strategies That Minimize the Impact of Secondary Victimization

TOPIC: Psychotherapy with abused women. PURPOSE: To contrast the usefulness of several models of psychotherapy with abused women. SOURCE: Review of the literature and clinical experience of the authors. CONCLUSIONS: Because marital counseling often focuses on the violence as a product of the couple system rather than oppression of the woman, the authors recommend individual counseling to address developmentally determined feelings of helplessness. The goal of this psychotherapy is empowerment.