Spouse abuse: An integrative-interactional model

Although spouse abuse is a psychosocial problem and needs to be addressed from an ecological perspective, many clinicians confront this family issue daily. Outlined are some practical suggestions on how to deal with the abuser and the couple when one or both are clients. This work emphasizes the importance of contracts that are related to the level of work being done. Suggestions are made regarding the important considerations in the first few meetings when working with groups of men in the community. Interventions are derived from a broadly conceived cognitive-behavioral-systems perspective.