Featured Review: Psychological therapies for women who experience intimate partner violence

Interview with Kelsey Hegarty, Professor Family Violence Prevention, The University of Melbourne and The Royal Women ' s Hospital and lead author of this Cochrane Review.Tell us about this Cochrane review …Domestic violence (physical, emotional, sexual abuse and controlling behaviour by a partner or ex ‐partner) is common worldwide and causes long‐lasting emotional and physical health problems. Psychological therapies (counselling by trained people) may improve women ' s mental health and enable them to focus on making safety plans, accessing resources for themselves and their children, and ultimately to escape the domestic violence.We searched scientific literature worldwide up to the end of October 2019 for trials comparing a group of female domestic violence survivors who received psychological therapy with those who did not, to understand whether such therapies are safe and effective.What did you find out?We found evidence that psychological therapies probably reduce depression and may reduce anxiety symptoms for women who have experienced domestic violence (six to 12 months after the therapy). Psychological therapies do not appear to cause any harm. However, we are uncertain whether psychological therapies improve self ‐efficacy, mental health, quality of life, social support, uptake of healthcare and domestic violence services, safety planning or reduce post‐traumatic stress disorder and re‐exposure to any form of domestic violence.Overall, there is a need f...
Source: Cochrane News and Events - Category: Information Technology Authors: Source Type: news