Applying Evidence Based Practice in a Group: Adults in Recovery from Domestic Violence

Introduction

There are situations where people find themselves being concerned about their surrounding in several factors. Some of these include their safety, trust, control, esteem, and intimacy. Hence it is likely that if the issue at hand is not addressed then one is likely to suffer or exhibit symptoms identified as post-traumatic stress disorder. This paper will apply cognitive processing therapy for adults in recovery from domestic violence.

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Section 1

Whenever the word violence comes into mind, there is the tendency of thinking that it is only physical. Unfortunately, this happens in different formats with the intention of gaining undue power or control over a spouse, partner or any other intimate members of the family. It is not something that is likely to happen over a short time but is rather learned behavior that is likely to be ingrained over a longer time (Morland et al., 2015). It is contrary to what most people may think are the causes such as anger, mental issues, substance abuse or any other common excuses attributed to the same. There are different types of abuses other than the physical one that is likely to show in the form of the physical injuries from the victim. The others may have their devastating consequences that may not be visible to the naked eye and may take the form of emotional abuse or intimidation, isolation and verbal abuse. Besides, there is using male privilege and economic exploitation among others.

Domestic violence is not an isolated form of abuse, and it is common all over the world. It is irrespective of the religion, tribal affiliations, and nationalities but is likely to affect the female gender than it is with the men. The females are always on the receiving end in some cases with a rising prevalence of the vice in some communities. In the United States, some statistics indicate that every 15 seconds there is a woman who becomes a victim of domestic violence (Zayfert & Becker, 2006). Records indicate that 25% of women in the United States will be victims of domestic violence at least once in their lifetime and the World Health Organization places the figure at 38% worldwide. It is difficult to identify the ones who are going through domestic violence from the outside, and it could be anyone.

Domestic violence affects all the people in the family unit and sometimes may even extend to the neighbors, friends and extended relatives. The focus in this context is the adult survivors who are recovering from its effects. Most people have been preoccupied with the physical effects like bruises, cuts, scrapes, and injuries that are likely to be evident in the victims. They tend to forget that the hidden results could even be more severe and linger for decades. The best way to avoid this form of damage will be for the victim to seek treatment. The earlier this is done; the better and it will mean that the victim will be on the path to regain a meaningful life that is free from the adverse effects associated with the violence.

There are some socio-cultural dimensions of the problem that will need to be identified for it to be addressed effectively. The social and economic costs of the problem are enormous and have ripple effects on the society. Persampiere, Poole and Murphy (2014) agree that the victims may be rendered immobile for sometimes or permanently and therefore they will be unable to work. It will lead to the loss of their wages and the inability to participate in their regular activities requiring other people to be contracted to take care of them. Domestic violence is likely to be associated with cultural beliefs, ideologies, and weak legal sanctions. It is expected to be perpetrated in areas where the abused partner has a low level of education and little exposure. The males are the ones who ate likely to perpetuate it against their women counterparts and is expected to be common in areas where they have low education, a history of violence and unequal gender norms.

Section 2

The people who will be gathered here will form what is referred to as a therapy group. Since they have joint problems, they are meant to assist each other in coping with the effects of what they had gone through in their previous engagements. It becomes easy to deal with the problems as mentioned earlier when a group is involved through the various activities that they will be involved together. The setup will be such that there will be one or more therapists who will be engaged with several people at the same time who have been brought together due to the similarity of what they had gone through (Carrion, Wong & Kletter, 2013). It will be done at the clinics, hospitals or community centers where the individual members had going to seek treatment for their various ailments at a personal level and are integrated with individual therapy and medication. These groups serve several purposes including instilling hope in the survivors, developing socialization skills and also gives the therapist an opportunity to get more information on their experiences.

At the center of this intervention is the cognitive processing therapy which is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy. It is a form of psychotherapy which focuses on handling the problems through which it will help the victims to find happiness as it will be responsible in the alteration of their dysfunctional emotions, their behaviors, and feelings. Unlike some other forms of therapy, like the Freudian which is concerned with investigating the childhood wounds, this one concentrates on the solutions by inspiring patients to change their distorted perspectives altering their destructive behaviors patterns.

There will need to be some elements that will be agreed upon for the group to serve its intended purpose. There will be a 12-week session with some group activities which will be broken down to the individual levels (Zayfert & Becker, 2006). Some of the topics to be handled will be relieving the times and this violence that each one of them went through. The group will focus on each one of the members discussing what they went through and what may have triggered the actions. Since there is a perpetrator involved in all the cases, they will explain what may have led their partners or spouses to decide on perpetrating this to them. There will also be a session on how they think they may have contributed to the sequence of events leading to their problems. They will also have to address their fears and concerns and what they think the future holds for them. Some experimental reactions will be suggested to do at their respective homes and gauging the responses of their partners.

The individuals will be researched as a closed group where individual members will get approval from s staff member. They need to go through some sessions and activities together which are supposed to build them up and equip them with tactics to overcome their current problems. This setup will assure them privacy and ensures them that each one of them has a sense of belonging. Over time they will develop familiarity with each other and will go through the therapy sessions that will allow them to advance from one step to the other (Kubany & Ralston, 2008). As they proceed through the meetings, they will be assessed on the progress that will have made as compared to the first time that came in when they were bitter and uncertain about solutions to their situations.

Various benefits can be attributed to this form of therapy and which have also worked in the past for most similar groups. The mere realization that they are not alone gives them great relief and serves to break the sense of isolation and alienation. The members have an opportunity to make observations and analyze when individual members are going through therapy. They can then turn to each for support and feedback other than having to rely on the clinicians. Pernicano (2012) observes that it has assisted others to identify with their feelings and to express them as a significant step towards full recovery. Group therapy has helped people to relate with others going through similar problems which end up giving them a greater understanding of their situations. Some people have been known to be withdrawn and not open to group activities. Some people do not open up with their problems and do have some unaddressed fears when it comes to opening up to others.

Section 3

There has not been any research on this group but on some of the aspects that are close to what the members of these groups exhibit. Most of these research interventions have been focusing on the females as survivors of domestic violence. There are also others that have focused on the long-term effects of domestic violence on children and women as the most affected group. These have worked by this form of violence affecting many types of groups and the steps taken towards reducing this effect.

There is no research on the use of cognitive processing therapy when it comes to the adults who are recovering from domestic violence. There have been many other forms of therapy most of them targeting individuals but not dealing with a group as is the case that is suggested by the research above. It will be a good choice as adults are the most affected people in the case of domestic violence. The other people like the extended families, children, and other stakeholders get the subsidiary effects of this population (Pritchand et al., 2013). There are so many activities that directly rely on this group, and it means that the drastic effects on the society are multiplied in many other respects when they do not recover fully.

This research is critical considering that the target population is people who have been identified with and need to be treated for the post-traumatic stress disorder. Some of the diagnoses are safety concerns where these persons doubt the ability to protect themselves when they are exposed to similar scenarios. They have lost trust in the ones who are close to them and question their sense of judgment. They suffer from a feeling of inadequacy when it comes to taking charge of their lives and influencing their friends and relatives.

This form of intervention may not work if there are no resources in the way of a room where the individuals need to be meeting. These people may be having different work schedules that may make it difficult to get time for these sessions that are supposed to be weekly. When there members may have different educational levels making it difficult for them to interact on an equal level thereby making some members feel inferior. Some of the modifications may require that these members fill in some of their details like educational level (Renzetti et al., 2011). It will be used to match the ones who may have similarities to prevent the disparities that may introduce problems to this form of therapy.

This intervention can be best delivered in a setup where people have some other forms of preexisting relation. The existing relationship will be a firm basis for bringing them together on a common platform. Suppose it is a school, or community-based organization or church then they will likely be from adjacent residential areas that facilitate their gathering in one common room. Sanderson (2008) argues that these institutions have the capability of presenting resources in the form of a place and contracting the services of an expert to facilitate the therapy. It is easy for there to be some continuity of the group long after the sessions have been closed for the support of the individual members.

References

Carrion, V., Wong, S., & Kletter, H. (2013). Update on Neuroimaging and Cognitive Functioning in Maltreatment-Related Pediatric PTSD: Treatment Implications. Journal Of Family Violence, 28(1), 53-61. doi:10....