This article discusses family and domestic violence and includes some confronting statistics. If you, or someone you know, needs immediate support, you can contact 1800 RESPECT for free 24-hour support. Alternatively, you can visit their website for more support resources.
The statistics around instances of family and domestic violence never get any easier to talk about. On average, one woman is murdered by her current or former partner every nine days.
One in six women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15, and one in four have experienced emotional abuse by a current or former partner since the age of 15, according to 2021-22 data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
While women are overrepresented in these statistics, we also know that 1 in 18 men experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a current or previous cohabiting partner, and 1 in 7 have experienced some form of emotional abuse from a current or former partner since the age of 15.
The statistics are even more stark for Indigenous populations and those living in rural and remote communities.
Indigenous women aged 15 and over are 33 times more likely to be hospitalised due to family violence than non-Indigenous women.
The legacy of dispossession, the Stolen Generations and the impact of policies from successive governments has contributed to the significant disadvantage and trauma experienced by Indigenous people, their families and communities.
While many incidents of family and domestic violence in regional and rural Australia likely go unreported, research indicates that around 21 per cent of women living outside capital cities have experienced intimate partner violence, compared to 15 per cent of women in capital cities.
Not only are the physical and social impacts of this violence devastating for the survivors, but, often, people also experience mental health challenges and psychological distress in the wake of the violence.
This can include anxiety disorders, suicidality and self-inflicted injuries and depressive disorders, all of which can alter the course of someone's entire life, and that of their family and friends.
We've heard iterations of these statistics for years now, yet it seems little progress is being made in this space. This is why we need to ramp up early intervention efforts within our communities and psychologists are well-positioned to lead this important work.
Recognising the signs of coercive control
All psychologists have a responsibility to their clients to be aware of issues relating to family violence and to know how to respond sensitively and effectively, commensurate with their role.
Coercive control is often a precursor to intimate partner homicide. As the APS has previously outlined, coercive control refers to "a set of behaviours that illegitimately control someone else’s freedom or force somebody else to do what you want".
This type of abuse is often not physical and may be exercised via digital technologies such as mobile phone tracking or hidden cameras. Victim-survivors are often blamed for being weak, uneducated, or failing to uphold their end of the domestic bargain.
These behaviours may result in the perpetrator isolating the victim from friends and family, controlling their finances, forcing them to perform certain tasks, and degrading the victim’s self-confidence in ways that prevent them from seeking help.
Psychologists can act as the first line of defence in recognising some of these signs and symptoms of coercive control, which can include:
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An increase in 'checking-in' behaviours. Keep an eye out for clients feeling like they need to constantly update their partner on their whereabouts, or if they feel the need to lie about where they are going.
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Look out for self-blame/guilt language. If your client has increased use of language about not feeling adequate or not doing enough to support their partner, they might be experiencing emotional manipulation.
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Signs that a client is losing elements of their autonomy, such as if they were to say something like: "They don't let me go out to do the grocery shopping anymore, so we have them delivered to our house."
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Sudden withdrawals from social events. Perhaps a client tells you they haven't seen their friends in a while or talks about feeling distant from relatives.
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Normalising bad behaviour. Keep an eye out for clients who justify poor behaviour from their partner by saying things like, "She just cares about me, that's all," or, "I know he's just doing this because he's worried for my safety."
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Nervous energy/body language. Pay attention to particular signs of distress such as fidgeting, rapid breathing patterns, difficulty forming thoughts/sentences, etc. when discussing concerns about a partner's behaviour.
While there are some great screening tools available to help you navigate these potentially challenging conversations, you can also ask non-threatening, open-ended questions to help clients feel comfortable.
For example, you could ask, 'How do you feel when you're with your partner?' or 'How does your partner react when you come home after spending time with your friends?'.
This brief overview highlights just a few of the nuanced strategies psychologists might employ to detect signs of coercive control. Through these and other advanced, evidence-based approaches, psychologists are uniquely equipped to serve as proactive interventionists, disrupting patterns of family and domestic violence and fostering pathways to safer, healthier relationships.
Creating safe spaces
It is recommended that psychologists practise from a trauma-informed framework, and understand the nuance and complexity of risks faced by clients who experience intimate partner abuse and violence.
While we should always strive for preventative measures, often it's not until clients have experienced some form of family and domestic violence that they seek out the support of mental health professionals.
By positioning ourselves as allies, we can help our clients to overcome disclosure barriers and gradually build a safe and trusting environment.
To do this, there are some important things to keep in mind. Beyond the basic considerations, such as highlighting confidentiality, avoiding unintentional use of blame language or pathologising the victims (for example, suggesting they have a lack of assertiveness or poor attachment) and maintaining privacy, you may also consider:
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Starting sessions with grounding techniques, such as breath work or focusing on different senses, to support clients to work through any distress they may be experiencing ahead of opening up about their experiences.
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Utilising motivational interviewing techniques to encourage clients to explore their own feelings and make empowered decisions, fostering a sense of self-agency. (APS is soon launching a short course in motivational interviewing in the coming weeks).
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Consider how you can offer discrete billing arrangements to avoid a client's partner looking for financial records or documents that suggest they have been seeking help.
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Document any reports of family violence. This can have important implications for future legal proceedings regarding assault charges, protective orders, divorce, child custody matters and victims of crime compensation claims etc.
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When risk is identified, this will be both assessed and addressed in collaboration with the client. Monitoring client safety is an ongoing assessment throughout the provision of psychological services.
You can read more about working with clients who have experienced intimate partner abuse or violence in this APS Practice Guide.
Some clients experiencing violence may choose to stay with their partner. In these instances, it's important to respect their decision and display no signs of judgement. Psychologists should signal that they trust their client's judgement and that they will continue to offer ongoing support to them.
However, you can be clear that violence is a choice made by the perpetrator. Some clients may hold beliefs, supported by the abuser’s narrative, that they bear some responsibility for their partner’s abusive behaviour. It's important that psychologists help them to overcome these beliefs.
Essentially, the main goal is to operate in a way that helps your client feel in control of their own life. This message is incredibly powerful for victims of family and domestic violence, as control has often been taken from them in many other aspects of their lives.
Consider added layers of complexity
We must also consider the added complexities that arise for minority groups within our communities. For example, rural and remote victims facing geographic separation may already be limited in the amount of social support and contact with others outside the relationship.
Furthermore, seeking help may be complicated in rural and remote communities where the perpetrator may be well-known and respected. Another consideration is the lack of mental health support available in these communities or cost barriers preventing these communities from accessing support.
This is one of the many reasons why APS continues to advocate for more trained psychologists in rural and regional communities – to ensure access to adequate mental health support for all Australians.
Broader changes
Beyond the preventative and reactive support that psychologists can offer, there are key changes that need to happen at a government, community and infrastructure level.
For example, through our advocacy work, the APS has called for increased awareness of coercive control in our communities via specialised training for health practitioners and community members to better identify and support victim-survivors, as well as evidence-based interventions to prevent disrespectful behaviour towards women.
Rural and regional communities also need access to stronger internet connectivity and digital literacy to support vulnerable Australians to access a raft of supportive resources online.
For our culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) community members, translators and language resources are critical to build safe and supportive spaces for CALD victims.
And, as many of our members are already aware, APS are huge proponents of enabling victim-survivors of coercive control and family and domestic violence to see a psychologist without a mental health diagnosis via a dedicated Medicare domestic violence item number.
These changes would go far in helping to address our nation's pervasive family and domestic violence challenge, creating a safer, fairer and better Australia for all.
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