Identifying, assessing and responding to perpetration of domestic abuse: practice guide for mental health professionals

TY - JOUR

T1 - Identifying, assessing and responding to perpetration of domestic abuse

T2 - practice guide for mental health professionals

AU - Greenfield, Philippa

AU - Calcia, Marilia

AU - McCree, Chris

AU - Sahota, Maneek

AU - Thomas, Holly

AU - Kirkpatrick, Kyla

AU - Vagi, Rebecca

AU - Howard, Louise M.

AU - Markham, Sarah

AU - Bhavsar, Vishal

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons.

PY - 2025/1/1

Y1 - 2025/1/1

N2 - Domestic abuse – abusive behaviour perpetrated by an adult towards another adult to whom they are personally connected (e.g. partners, ex-partners or family members) – damages mental health, increases mental health service use and challenges clinical management. Training and guidance for mental health professionals on identifying and responding to patients exposed to domestic abuse are available, but there has been less development of resources for mental health professionals in identifying, assessing and responding to perpetrators of domestic abuse. In this article, we describe a framework for responding to domestic abuse perpetration in clinical settings in general adult mental health services, aimed at improving practice. This could support mental health professionals in sensitive enquiry and assessment for domestic abuse perpetration, and guide appropriate responses, as part of routine training and continuing professional development.

AB - Domestic abuse – abusive behaviour perpetrated by an adult towards another adult to whom they are personally connected (e.g. partners, ex-partners or family members) – damages mental health, increases mental health service use and challenges clinical management. Training and guidance for mental health professionals on identifying and responding to patients exposed to domestic abuse are available, but there has been less development of resources for mental health professionals in identifying, assessing and responding to perpetrators of domestic abuse. In this article, we describe a framework for responding to domestic abuse perpetration in clinical settings in general adult mental health services, aimed at improving practice. This could support mental health professionals in sensitive enquiry and assessment for domestic abuse perpetration, and guide appropriate responses, as part of routine training and continuing professional development.

KW - Domestic abuse

KW - risk assessment

KW - violence

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85207412186

U2 - 10.1192/bja.2024.39

DO - 10.1192/bja.2024.39

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85207412186

SN - 2056-4678

VL - 31

SP - 8

EP - 19

JO - BJPsych Advances

JF - BJPsych Advances

IS - 1

ER -