CC07 Keynote 02 - Principles and Strategies for the Prevention of Spouse and Partner Abuse - Cloe Madanes, Lie Psic, HDL

Description:

This presentation will cover the assessment and detection of spousal and partner abuse, as well as intervention strategies. Community resources, cultural factors and same gender abuse dynamics also will be discussed.

Educational Objectives:

1. To list three strategies for intervention in spouse and partner abuse.
2. To describe three cultural factors in spouse and partner abuse.

*Sessions may be edited for content and to preserve confidentiality*

Outline:

Introduction & Acknowledgment

• Cloe adjusts her presentation and reflects on her past keynote.

• Notes changes in legal restrictions that now allow couples therapy in domestic violence cases.

Shifts in Domestic Violence Approaches

• Laws now recognize mutual violence in couples; older anger management models were ineffective.

• Cloe supports honest discussion of both partners' behaviors.

• Advocates for an interactional therapy model involving family and social context.

Core Principles of Therapy

• Emphasizes interaction, empathy, clear directives, and therapist optimism.

• Believes all problems are solvable—except death.

• Avoids diagnostic labels; favors respect and practical interventions.

Responsibility & Humor in Therapy

• Therapists must take responsibility for outcomes and empower clients.

• Promotes self-determination and personal agency.

• Encourages therapists to use humor as a coping and therapeutic tool.

Reorganizing Family & Community Roles

• Families should function as self-help groups.

• Elders should be restored to guiding roles.

• Ethical decisions in therapy must consider long-term well-being and spiritual harm.

Collaboration with Tony Robbins & Human Needs

• Works with Robbins to broaden therapy's reach.

• Describes 6 universal needs: certainty, variety, significance, love, growth, contribution.

• Violence often stems from unmet needs for significance and control.

Rituals & Involving Family

• Uses symbolic rituals (e.g., head shaving) to mark change.

• Invites extended family into therapy to serve as witnesses and stabilizers.

• Family presence deters violence and shifts dynamics.

Addressing Cultural & Gender Differences

• Same violence rates exist in same-gender couples; secrecy and lack of services are challenges.

• Advocates cultural sensitivity while upholding U.S. legal protections.

• Uses empathy to explain to abusers that partners and children are not possessions.

Financial Deterrents & Ericksonian Strategies

• Proposes contracts where violent behavior results in money going to someone the abuser dislikes.

• Uses Ericksonian techniques of indirect influence and symbolic gestures.

• Ends with gratitude and hope for improving therapy around domestic violence.