Intimate Spousal And Partner Violence

Course overview

This intermediate course addresses the causes, assessment, treatment, statistics and legal issues concerning Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). It is essential for today's clinicians to be up to date on this pervasive, growing issue, because much of what we believed about causes, treatment and prevention was based upon research clouded by ideologies and social views. Debunking the popular notion that IPV is always about power and control, this course goes well beyond such outdated and erroneous assumptions. In addition to articles, this course includes audio interviews with IPV experts, such as Dr. Lenore Walker, Dr. Steven Stosny, Dr. Bob Carolla, and Dr. Ofer Zur. The course includes five sections and 5 audio interviews. Section One presents statistics on the incidence, causes, and effects of intimate partner violence. It includes information on intimate partner violence in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender couples. Section Two presents an overview of how our perspective on the causes of and treatments for intimate partner violence have evolved. Section Three presents and discusses assessment instruments. Section Four presents the ethical and legal requirements surrounding intimate partner violence and reviews the relevant parts of the APA, CAMFT and NASW Codes of Ethics to spousal and partner abuse, with a particular emphasis on California law. Section Five provides listings of community and online resources for consumers and professionals.