In this workshop we will explore the psychology of intimate partner violence and the impact on the relationship.
People who use some form of violence on the person they love, will very often do so from an experience of hopelessness, despair and an experience of helplessness. In the aftermath of a violent episode, feelings of regret, guilt, and shame can become so overwhelming that it becomes difficult to fully acknowledge the violence and take responsibility for it.
For the therapist working with violence, maintaining an empathic and curios therapeutic stance whilst at the same time emphasising the importance of responsibility can be a tricky balancing act. Helping clients to own their problem whilst resisting invitations into Games requires the capacity to hold several perspectives – and is a complex process.
In this workshop we will look at the following:
- What is violence?
- The cycle of violence in a relationship.
- How violence can become “the norm” within the family whilst remaining hidden in the outside world.
- The therapeutic relationship. How to detect violence and ways to work with it