Most interventions for men who have acted violently towards their partner have been conducted as group interventions within a criminal justice context. Therefore, few studies have examined individual psychotherapy and how such interventions may reduce partner violence. In this study, we aimed to describe changes in violence, and changes in clinical distress in men undergoing individual psychotherapy targeting their use of partner violence, at a clinic organized within a psychosocial health care context. This is a naturalistic prospective study of men voluntarily receiving individual psychotherapy for their use of violence against their female partner. Participants were 84 male clients, and data on their use of physical violence, physical controlling violence, property violence and psychological violence were collected pretreatment, posttreatment and at follow-up 1.5 years after treatment from both the men, and their partners (n = 58). The percentage of use of all types of violence during a typical month the last year decreased from pretreatment to follow-up, according to both the men, and their partners. Over the course of treatment, use of all types of self-reported violence during the last month was reduced, however, this was only partially confirmed by their partners. Number of sessions was associated with a lower risk of having used physical and physically controlling violence 1.5 years after treatment. Alcohol abuse or dependency, or qualifying for one or more psychiatric diagnoses, were not associated with levels or change in use of violence. On average, the men’s clinical distress declined over the course of psychotherapy. The findings suggest that individual psychotherapy may be a promising and worthwhile intervention for intimate partner violence. Studies with more elaborate designs are needed to identify the core mechanisms of psychotherapy for violence, and to corroborate these results with higher levels of evidence.

中文翻译：

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男性针对女性伴侣暴力行为的个体心理治疗中暴力和临床痛苦的变化：一项探索性研究

大多数针对对其伴侣实施暴力的男性的干预措施都是在刑事司法背景下作为群体干预措施进行的。因此，很少有研究探讨个体心理治疗以及此类干预措施如何减少伴侣暴力。在这项研究中，我们的目的是描述在心理社会医疗保健背景下组织的诊所接受针对伴侣暴力的个人心理治疗的男性的暴力变化和临床痛苦的变化。这是一项自然主义前瞻性研究，对象是男性因对女性伴侣使用暴力而自愿接受个人心理治疗。参与者为 84 名男性客户，在治疗前、治疗后以及治疗后 1.5 年的随访中收集了这些男性及其伴侣的身体暴力、身体控制暴力、财产暴力和心理暴力的数据（n = 58 ）。据这些人及其伴侣称，去年一个月内，从治疗前到治疗后，使用各种类型暴力的比例有所下降。在治疗过程中，上个月自我报告的各种类型的暴力行为均有所减少，但这仅得到了其伴侣的部分证实。治疗次数与治疗后 1.5 年使用身体和身体控制暴力的风险较低相关。酗酒或依赖，或符合一项或多项精神诊断的条件，与暴力使用的水平或变化无关。平均而言，男性的临床痛苦在心理治疗过程中有所下降。研究结果表明，个体心理治疗可能是治疗亲密伴侣暴力的一种有前途且有价值的干预措施。需要进行更精心设计的研究来确定暴力心理治疗的核心机制，并用更高水平的证据来证实这些结果。