Domestic violence experts speak out

Published February 9, 2005 at midnight

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Kline

Thibido

Paiz

McBride

Lantz

Dileo

Davis

Is couples counseling appropriate?

Marcela Paiz, batterer treatment provider in Denver:

She says many women would benefit from the kind of learning that offenders undergo.

"Sometimes they (victims) call begging for it. They say, 'He's learning all of this. How can I learn, too?' It's just as wrong to assume there's absolutely zero responsibility on the other end. When I hear the idea that couples counseling is always taboo, I freak."

Jim Kline, a Breckenridge psychologist who provides court-ordered treatment for batterers:

He got so frustrated with the treatment system that he wrote a book about domestic violence to present scientific data showing that violence is frequently mutual. He thinks advocates overlook or ignore that research.

Men in the system are frequently not the ogres of domestic violence literature, he said.

"Most of the time, people I deal with have poor communication skills, poor conflict resolution skills. I would say the majority of people are mutual collaborators in the conflict."

But if you say that to advocates, "you're toast," he said.

Nancy Lantz, who has been counseling domestic violence offenders since the 1980s:

She says communication between couples is key, but she opposes joint counseling.

"It's like putting the cart before the horse. She can't look at her issues if it's not safe enough. When he's owning his issues and not shoving them down her throat, then it's safe enough for her to deal with her own stuff."

Does research support Colorado's approach to batterer treatment?

Jim Kline, psychologist:

The current approach doesn't work, he says.

"We don't know very well what works. We should do the research. But instead, we come up with 50 pages of regulations based on ideology."

Trish Thibodo, a member of the state offender management board and head of the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence:

More long-term studies would be beneficial, she says.

"I don't think we have enough to say (batterers intervention programs) don't work. It is only a very, very small percentage of offenders who get treatment. Instead of just throwing someone into jail and letting them get out, we need something in between to start shifting behavior."

Cheryl Davis, administrator of Colorado's Domestic Violence Offender Management Board:

"The board spent hours going over every single comment (from providers) because they really want these standards not only to be best practice, but they want it to be reflective of the expertise of the people doing this work."

Has Colorado's domestic violence board responded to new ideas?

Longtime treatment provider Robert McBride:

The board is necessary but must listen more to what providers see and hear.

"There needs to be a standard of treatment. But oftentimes the bureaucracy isn't too concerned about what the success is, only about the bureaucracy themselves. They have a sort of disconnect. They are doing their own thing."

Peter DiLeo, a treatment provider with AMEND, one of the first batterer intervention programs in Colorado, and a member of the offender management board:

He says the standards approved by the board have resulted in better advocacy and support for victims, along with stronger collaboration among providers and probation officers.

He says treatment still has a long way to go in reaching the wide variety of offenders who come through his doors. But he believes AMEND's success rate, said to be about 58 percent, offers more hope than despair.

"We can give victims an idea that there is a pretty good chance — about 60 percent — that things can change," he said.

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