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Running Head: INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE

Crisis Intervention and trauma: Intimate partner violence
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INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE

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Intimate partner violence is the physical, verbal, sexual, emotional or economic abuse by
a current or former spouse or intimate partner against the other spouse or partner. In cases where
there are children in the home, abusive partners may also abuse the children or use them to
further torment their partner. Though there are women who successfully escape abusive partners,
most women are trapped in bad situations and go through recurring violence that gets more
intense and violent with time. A woman’s ability to leave an abusive partner may be further
perpetuated by a lack of independence. The abusive partner may control and restrict her access to
food, transport, money friends and employment thereby isolating her from any support system
that may help her get out of the abusive situation. No research has so far produced a
psychological or cultural profile of abused women. There are however some groups of people
that have an increased risk of getting into abusive relationships: women who were in abusive
homes as children, divorced or separated women, women who abuse drugs and young women
aged between 17 and 28. Statistics collected by the National Domestic Violence state that more
that 12 million men and women have been victims of some form of IPV. 29% of women and

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10% of men have been raped, physically abused or stalked by their partners. IPV is a growing
problem and health providers need to always be vigilant of signs of domestic abuse and intervene
when the situation requires it. This paper intends to use a hypothetical case of IPV to review
how counselors should deal with victims of IPV.
The client in this scenario is Lucy who comes to see Dr. Jack. Before starting an
assessment of Lucy’s case, Dr. Jack needs to first make sure that the patient is in her right of
mind. If Lucy is over emotional, hysterical or withdrawn, Dr. Jack needs to make sure that Lucy
is stable and help her bring her emotions under control , ensure that Lucy is calm and if she is
not, Dr. Jack should help her regain her calmness for example by getting her to breath slowly.
Dr. Jack also needs to assess Lucy’s thinking pattern to make sure that she is logical and that she
can express herself in realistic ways. Lucy comes to Dr. Jack because her partner has been
abusing her. She says her husband James has been abusing her for the past three years of their
marriage. He used to be very gentle and caring during the beginning of their marriage, she says.
3 years ago however, it’s like a switch turned and he stated becoming violent. It started with
verbal abuse where he would come home and say insulting and belittling things to her. She says
she thought it was just stress from work because he had started working longer hours. He would
stop when things at work calmed down, she thought at the time, but it didn’t get better. One time
she had gotten home from work to find him fuming. He accused her of being late because she
was cheating and slapped her hard across the face. After that things got worse and worse until
she had leave work to try and appease him. This did not work and he keeps hitting her at the
slightest provocation. She says she didn’t go to the police because she was scared of what he
might do if he finds out. She’s afraid that he might kill her if she doesn’t leave him now but
she’s also scared of leaving him because she doesn’t have a job or close friends nearby.

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After hearing this case, most health care providers think about domestic abuse or IPV as
it should. Dr. Jack however cannot jump into conclusions. He needs to seek more information
about the situation from Lucy. He needs to take a history from Lucy in a nonjudgmental manner
and use a method that builds up Lucy’s trust in him. Counsellors should take patient’s histories
before they do the physical exam because the history might enlighten the counsellor on the area
to pay attention to during a physical exam. Dr. Sam can ask the following questions for Lucy’s
history:
1. When did you husband start abusing you?
2. Do you remember a certain reason why this might have started?
3. When did he first abuse you physically?
4. Do you remember what had happened before the first time he hit you?
5. How often does...