Multi-tiered Group Therapy Model to Identify and Treat the Root Causes of Domestic Violence: A Proposal Integrating Current Social Neuroscience Findings

Domestic violence (DV) is a national public health crisis. The leading treatment model, the Duluth Model, has failed to reduce or prevent DV. New models of treatment for DV are needed. In this paper, an emphasis is placed on an integrated multimodal approach to treating DV, integrating the current psychological science on the neurobiology and brain science of human violence with recent findings in the neurobiology of group relationships to present a treatment program for DV employing a group therapy model. This group therapy treatment approach moves away from the treatment of symptoms to the treatment of the root causes of violence. The two-tier Duluth model (a community teaching model of psychoeducation and court-mandated behavioral therapies for male perpetrators) is expanded to include a third tier. This is a psychological science-driven model that identifies and treats the root causes of DV using a group process and group systems-oriented approach. Adapted from the source document.