The Batterer as Parent

Addressing the Impact of Domestic Violence on Family Dynamics

"This highly readable, excellent text will serve professionals and students in varied fields who come into contact with families exposed to battering. The background and experiences of the authors are a major strength informing the book. The text is chock full of essential information gleaned from extensive clinical practice. A second major strength is their focus on family climate and dynamics influenced by the batterer, rather than approaching the child-parent relationship in terms of discrete incidents that may have been witnessed by the child. This approach resonates with my clinical experience, while much current research still uses an incident-based approach. I have one leg in the clinical practice world and the other in research/teaching, and from my vantage point it is exciting to read clinical wisdom and experiences summarized thematically that can inspire highly relevant empirical research. I would certainly purchase a copy of the Second Edition for my own professional use, and I wish that it were required reading for professionals intervening with children exposed to batterers, particularly chills welfare professionals."