Using social rather than personal framing to demystify abuse and achieve meaningful change — Stuart Stoddart

This paper describes a behaviour change program for men who had used abuse against a female partner. The program sought to locate abuse in its social context, rather than framing it as a personal issue. Narrative therapy practices were used in individual and group sessions to assist the men to discover their preferred values and intentions, and in parallel, to understand the effects of abuse. The dissonance between an emerging preferred identity and an increased awareness of the consequences of abuse led to rejection of abuse, acceptance of responsibility for past behaviours, and strengthened values of nonviolence and responsibility.