Identification and Treatment of Spouse Abuse. Health and Mental Health Agency Roles

摘要

Proceedings from a conference on health and mental health agency roles in the identification and treatment of spouse abuse are presented. Introductory remarks discuss spouse abuse as a family, social, and public health problem and as a reflection of societal and family tensions. Papers address the impact of medicine, psychiatry, and social work on the 'battering syndrome' and present a psychodynamic understanding of the personality traits and interpersonal reactions of marital couples that produce violence - prone marriages. Additional topics include ways in which health professionals can give legal assistance to battered women, the experiences of the Director of the Henry Street Settlement Shelter for Battered Women in New York City, and a feminist approach to stopping wife abuse. Conference workshops focus on working with spouses as a couple, working with the abuser, the impact of abuse on the family, crisis intervention in the emergency room, women's support groups, and alcoholism and spouse abuse. Most papers contain footnotes or bibliographic references.