Description:
Ms. Madanes will discuss strategies for working with child abuse and neglect, spouse abuse, adolescent violence, suicide prevention, sexual abuse when the perpetrator is an adult and when the perpetrator is a juvenile, and situations where violence happened many years ago. Step by step methods for preventing future violence will be presented.
Educational Objectives:
*Sessions may be edited for content and to preserve confidentiality*
Outline:
Workshop Overview
Hosted by the Milton H. Erickson Foundation; focus on family violence
Workshop provides tools, theory, and video examples (including incest cases)
Emphasizes the global and familial impact of violence
15-Step Method for Preventing Violence Recurrence
Designed for adolescent sex offenders; 96% success rate (Montgomery County, MD)
Now applied to incest, child abuse, physical and marital violence
Highlights spiritual pain for both victim and offender
Initial Steps in Incest Family Therapy
Full family convened; offense discussed directly
Offender asked to explain why the act was wrong
Therapist addresses spiritual pain early in therapy
Offender acknowledges harm done to victim and self
Family Accountability and Apology Process
Family expresses sorrow for not protecting the victim
Offender must kneel and express remorse (not seek forgiveness)
Family must unanimously agree apology is sincere
Victim benefits from seeing responsibility acknowledged
Reparation and Rebuilding Family Ties
Offender performs symbolic or real acts of reparation
Emphasis on normal life resumption and safe sexual understanding
Mother’s love restored to both children critical to family healing
Addressing Marital Violence
Involves extended family, especially male elders
Extended family sets consequences for future abuse
Separation and third-party involvement used in severe cases
Third party at home helps shift relationship dynamics
Ericksonian Intervention: Bank Account Strategy
Therapist identifies who the husband despises most (e.g., mother-in-law)
Joint bank account is created; money forfeited if violence recurs
Designed to make violence socially and financially costly
Responding to Child Abuse and Neglect
Method applied to physical abuse and neglect
Avoid lecturing; raise self-esteem instead
Use family/community supports like suicide watch and family watch
Suicide Watch and Family Involvement
Suicide watch: family watches the person 24/7
Use family of origin (not spouse) for married individuals
Family watch assigns roles to extended family and community
Godparents appointed to support children in overwhelmed families
Coaching and Working with Protective Services
Coaching helps parents/adolescents relate better
Goal with CPS: disengage by proving good parenting
Therapists should help families create and follow a clear plan
Reward systems for parental effort and success are essential
Cloé Madanes, HDL, LIC, is a world-renowned innovator and teacher of family and strategic therapy and one of the originators of the strategic approach to family therapy. She has authored seven books that are classics in the field: Strategic Family Therapy; Behind the One-Way Mirror; Sex, Love and Violence; The Violence of Men; The Secret Meaning of Money; The Therapist as Humanist, Social Activist and Systemic Thinker; and Relationship Breakthrough. She has presented her work at professional conferences all over the world and has given keynote addresses for The Evolution of Psychotherapy Conference, the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy; the National Association of Social Workers, The Erickson Foundation, the California Psychological Association and many other national and international conferences. Madanes has won several awards for distinguished contribution to psychology and has counseled outstanding individuals from all walks of life.