Assessment of the Efficacy of a Psychological Treatment for Women Victims of Violence by their Intimate Male Partner

Abstract

This study evaluates the long-term efficacy of a brief psychotherapeutic cognitive-behavioral program in group format for female victims of violence by their intimate partner. 53 battered women were randomized into one of two intervention programs: one including among others exposure technique (n = 28) and another one in which exposure procedures were substituted by communication skills training (n = 25). Additionally, both programs included: psycho-education, breath control, training to improve self-esteem, cognitive restructuring, problem-solving, planning pleasant activities, and relapse prevention. The treatment was carried out in 8 weekly sessions. Measures of posttraumatic symptoms, anxiety, depression, self-esteem and anger expression were analyzed at pre- and post-treatment, and at 1-, 3-, 6- and 12-months follow-ups. Results show a pronounced decrease of posttraumatic, depressive and anxiety symptoms, which maintained in the different measure moments, with scarce difference between the two programs. The results and their clinical implications are discussed.

You’re Not Alone: Mental Health Outcomes in Therapy Groups for Abused Women

“…Despite the relative brevity, the extent of improvements in mental health symptoms is encouraging and similar to other studies of psychotherapy groups for women abused by intimate partners (Crespo and Arinero 2010;Holiman and Schilit 1991) and support groups (Abel 2000;Tutty et al 1993). In contrast, Kim and Kim's (2001) study on narrative groups similar to You're not Alone, found no improvements in depression, anxiety or self-esteem that were identified in the current study, although their sample sizes were quite small.…”

“…Kim and Kim (2001) examined Korean groups with a narrative therapy approach, concluding that being prone to anxiety was the only significant improvement with no changes in anxiety, self-esteem, or depression. Crespo and Arinero (2010) randomly assigned abused women to two diverse CBT 8-week therapy groups. Although the groups did not differ at post-test, statistically significant reductions in PTSD symptoms, depression and anxiety were noted at 1-month follow-up and maintained for a year for both interventions.…”

Stress Management and Intimate Partner Violence: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…In Constantino et al's study, a social support intervention decreased psychological distress symptoms in abused women and help them to address or overwhelm different perceptions of stress (Constantino et al 2005). On the other hand, psychotherapeutic cognitive-behavioral programs and forgiveness therapy were efficacious as therapeutic strategies for the amelioration of long-term negative psychological outcomes of spousal psychological abuse, such as depression, trait anxiety, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and self-esteem (Crespo and Arinero 2010;Reed and Enright 2006).…”

“…Other studies have examined the impact of different interventional programs of social support and life skills (Trimpey 1989;Constantino et al 2005), counseling and selfempowerment techniques Hyman 2001), psychotherapy (Crespo & Arinero 2010;Kubany et al 2003), and safety-promoting behaviors (Tiwari et al 2012;McFarlane et al 2002bMcFarlane et al , 2006) on women's stress and mood. Results have shown an improvement in self-efficacy and a decrease of posttraumatic stress disorder, depressive, and anxiety symptoms.…”

Eficacia de un programa de tratamiento psicológico individual para mujeres maltratadas por su pareja

“…También en España se han diseñado e implementado programas de intervención psicológica con mujeres maltratadas por su pareja (véase, por ejemplo, Crespo y Arinero, 2010;Echeburúa y Corral, 1998;Guerrero y García, 2008;Labrador, Rincón, De Luis y Fernán-dez-Velasco, 2004;Madrigal, Cardenal, Téllez, Ortiz-Tallo y Jiménez, 2012). Pero la investigación sobre sus efectos es limitada ya que se han puesto a prueba con muestras muy pequeñas y/o tienen limitaciones metodológicas.…”