If you are experiencing or committing spousal abuse in any of its many forms, seeking therapy is a viable option. Therapy for spousal abuse can be done individually, with your spouse or in a group setting. Therapy is key to understanding the root of spousal abuse and giving you the coping skills to end the spousal abuse.
Function
Therapy functions as a safe environment for clients to understand and address the spousal abuse. The therapist can serve as a moderator for discussions between the couple that would otherwise end up in physical violence or emotional damage. Spousal abuse can have an effect on therapy by inducing fear in the victim, making therapy not as effective as it can be in addressing the abuse or empowering the victim to get away from the abuse.
Types of Abuse
There are many types of spousal abuse such as physical and mental abuse. Causing harm to you or your spouse's body is classified as physical abuse. There is also mental abuse that can include terms like psychological or emotional abuse illustrated by signs such as the abuser instilling fear or feelings of inadequacy in the victim. Financial abuse can be illustrated by the abuser withholding resources from the victim in order to ensure complete dependence of the victim on the abuser.
Types of therapy
There are many types of therapy that can accompany spousal abuse. Therapists who are specialists in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) can offer therapy classified into three main schools of thought: Behavioral-based therapy addresses the thought processes and behaviors that are related to spousal abuse. Psychodynamic therapy investigates the underlying causes in the marriage or the client's life that has led him to experience or commit spousal abuse. The third school of thought is humanistic therapy, where the behaviors are are seen as non-pathological to help the client. Some therapists opt for an eclectic approach, combining techniques from multiple types of therapy to address spousal abuse.
Misconceptions
There are a few misconceptions about therapy and spousal abuse. Just because you and your spouse are seeking therapy does not mean that there is abuse taking place. And if there is spousal abuse within your relationship, therapy may not always be the right answer. The right answer is the one that feels the most right to you. A misconception of the victim is that if there is spousal abuse in the relationship, then she is somehow at fault. This is an effect of the abuse she is experiencing. Misconceptions of the abuser are that he is powerless to stop his behavior and what he is doing isn't really hurting the victim.
Warning
Abuse is never okay or acceptable in any shape or form. Therapy may make the spousal abuse less or even make it disappear from the relationship, but depending on the dynamics of the relationship, therapy could make spousal abuse worse. Keep resources available 24 hours a day if you are the victim of spousal abuse. Spousal abuse can be brought up in therapy, but all therapists will inform you prior to beginning the therapeutic, confidential relationship to be aware that there are some legal requirements for which a therapist may have to alert the authorities.
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