Battering Men and Their Male Therapists: The Different and the Similar

This paper describes the process of change in attitudes of male social workers’ towards themselves and towards their clients who are male perpetrators of partner violence (PV). The process reveals a reconstruction of the therapist’s beliefs concerning key elements in their work related being, such as masculinity, aggression, perception of their clients and their own male identities. The sample includes 15 male social workers that worked with battering men in social services. Data collection was performed through semi-structured interviews. The therapists’ process of questioning the popular and accepted demonization of violent men clarifies what differentiates them from their clients, but also opens an authentic pathway to examining similarities they share as men, without the need to be politically correct or to conform. The implications for practitioners working in batterers’ intervention programs are addressed.