Main description:

Am I doomed to a cycle of violence? As mental health professionals who work with victims of domestic violence know, this is one of the most difficult questions their clients can ask. Women and men who experience domestic violence struggle with coping, finding resilience, and with transitioning from viewing themselves as victims to survivors. Based on years of work, nearly 300 pages of research, and 1,000 pages of interview transcriptions, Stories of Strength shares the hopeful, heartfelt, and inspiring tales of survivors of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Most books on this topic focus on prevention and risk, violence and intervention, and the struggles that survivors face during and after the violence. This approach ignores statistics that demonstrate that the majority of women and a large number of men in North America are survivors of IPV and go on to continue new romances and healthy relationships. Research-based and filled with exciting stories of hope, this book appeals to any mental health student or professional who works with survivors of violence and is an ideal book to share with clients to promote resiliency and hope.

Contents:

Preface. 1. The Stories We Hear vs. The Stories We Live 2. Breaking Free 3. Contexts for Transition to Non-Violence 4. Creating Change 5. Real Life Happy Endings 6. Developing a Community to Support Nonviolence