Context of treatment and therapeutic alliance: critical factors in court-mandated batterer intervention programs

Santiago José Boira Sarto ^[1] ; Maria F. del Castillo ^[2] ; Pablo Carbajosa ^[3] ; Chaime Marcuello Servós ^[1]
1. [1] Universidad de Zaragoza
  
  Universidad de Zaragoza
  
  Zaragoza, España
2. [2] Instituto Aragonés de la Mujer
3. [3] Instituciones Penitenciarias
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Localización: The Spanish Journal of Psychology, ISSN 1138-7416, Nº. 16, 2013, págs. 1-13
Idioma: inglés
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Resumen
- This paper deals with the influence of the therapeutic context in batterer intervention programs. We conducted 2 complementary studies: a descriptive analysis (Study 1) and a qualitative study (Study 2) analyzing the aspects that may help to improve the operation and effectiveness of treatment in a group of men (N = 27) who participated in a program for convicted perpetrators of intimate partner violence. The results show a statistically significant relationship between the therapeutic alliance and the assessment of the usefulness of the program attended by offenders (r = .69, p < .01), and between the therapeutic alliance and the assessment of the usefulness of the program content (r = .43, p < .05). Furthermore, the results of the qualitative analysis show that aspects of the therapeutic context may play an important role for the adhesion of offenders to treatment, increasing their motivation and improving results. It is proposed that future research should provide more in-depth analysis of the elements related to the context of the intervention and therapists� skills as facilitators of change.