July 6 juillet 10:15 – 12:15
Room NCDH–200
Chair: John Wilson , Ontario Consent and Capacity Board
Domestic violence is a prevalent social problem with
devastating effects on families and society as a whole. It is also a crime. As
we enter this millennium, several government agencies involved in the criminal
justice system have been working together to develop an integrated approach in
an effort to break the cycle of violence and promote healthy and safe homes and
families. The Ministry of the Attorney General for Ontario is expanding a
program of dedicated Domestic Assault Courts across the province. Specialized
teams of assistant Crown Attorneys coordinate the prosecution of domestic
violence offences with police services, staff from Victim Witness Assistance
Programs, court services staff, and staff from probation services and Partner
Assault Response and counseling programs. This integrated approach is designed
to (1) provide information and support to victims and witnesses throughout the
court process; (2) increase the quality of prosecutions; and (3) provide
effective sentencing options upon guilty plea or conviction. The expansion of
Domestic Violence Courts requires that Crown Attorneys understand not only the
legal issues involved in prosecuting crimes of domestic violence, but also the
complex social and psychological factors. This presentation will address why
Domestic Violence Courts were created in Ontario, what we are striving to
achieve and how we hope to accomplish our goals.
Much has been written about the role of the child custody evaluator and the nature of the custody assessment, although at present, there are no universally accepted content criteria for the latter. There is, however, little in the literature concerning the role or function of the custody assessment itself in relation to the course of resolution of the custody dispute. While clinical testimony has long been recognized as a source of evidence to be considered at trial, this represents an overly restrictive view, particularly in a legal climate that promotes mediation and settlement. This paper will discuss the functions of the custody and access assessment as a form of alternative dispute resolution. It will emphasize the interdisciplinary context and practices between the legal and mental health professions that are necessary for this to occur. The authors draw on their own study of 72 judicial referrals conducted using a format which integrated the clinical custody assessment with the work of counsel and judicial case management procedures and compare this to other findings in the American literature. In a judicial climate that emphasizes dispute resolution, combining legal and mental health efforts can result in more efficient use of resources and a substantial diversion of cases from continuing litigation. While altering the process of clinical assessments enhances such findings, further work is required to assure appropriate selection criteria for various intervention formats.
Family therapy is an increasingly influential therapeutic model, which has rapidly been integrated into practice by child psychiatrists. Incorporating this model into the adult population, however, seems to have been slower and more difficult.
Cottrell and Foster (1988 & 1992) found that systemic models of care had not influenced general psychiatrists. Santana & Evans (1996) concurred with them, although they studied populations that remained in contact with the psychiatric services for far longer than the population studied by their predecessors.
Clinical observation suggested to Santana and Evans, a number of reasons that seemed to prevent the application of family interventions to the long term mentally ill treated by either the rehabilitation or the forensic services. Therefore, they proposed a number of strategies that aimed to enhance the influence of systemic practice in psychiatry in general and the long term mentally ill, in particular.
In order to explore the validity of these ideas, Santana and Gower devised a program aiming to incorporate family therapy as part of the treatment package offered to the long term mentally ill (1998).
In1999, this package of treatment was applied to families of long term patients with enduring maladaptive behaviors requiring management in conditions of minimum security.
The Burnham Family Intervention Model was the result of this work.
In the analysis of psychiatric development we observed that until recent decades, the psychiatric diagnosis could provide the judicial decision in cases where suspected mental upset. Decisions in mental health instituations are no longer made by the psychiatrist in an isolated manner, but by an integrated team of mental health professionals (psychologists, social workers, etc). This form of decision-making is also used in the justice system. However, the judge can request individual expertise in each area (psychiatry, psychology, social service, etc). When the judge requests psychiatric expertise, the professional can request that other specialties elaborate upon the diagnosis. The author understands that the definition of psychiatric diagnosis using the international codes CID 10 and DSM 4 is fundamental to the judicial needs. The paper will discuss a case of a psychological study where a mother was determined to have psychiatric problems. As a result of this study, but without a psychiatric diagnosis, the mother lost custody of her child. The “psychological diagnosis” used in the study referred to isolated symptoms, but did not define the clinical picture. The author questions the validity of this judicial conclusion since basic evaluation was not performed, including specific diagnosis, development of a corresponding clinical picture, etiology, and possible treatments, prognosis, etc.
Rates of domestic violence are increasing. This may be due to increasing sensitivity from agencies such as the police, or to women being more able and more willing to report these offences. Also, the incidence of Domestic Violence could be increasing. Social structures and expectations have greatly changed over the past few decades. Fewer families would be considered intact and gender roles are also less clearly, or rigidly, defined. This crisis in family life and in masculine identity has coincided with an increase in maladaptive coping such as drug use, mental health issues and violence.
Previous work would suggest that these issues are linked. Men from families where violence has been used are more likely to abuse women, and men who experience early family breakdown and other problems within their family of are more likely to become offenders and suffer similar problems with alcohol, mental health issues and so on, in later life. Men who are unduly dependent within their adult relationships and who have unrealistic expectations are also more likely to offend against their partners. This paper uses data from 95 domestic violence offenders to explore these issues.
The men did display some predictive characteristics, for example, employment and educational histories, but there was little evidence of exposure to family violence in family of origin and fewer mental health problems were identified. Implications of these preliminary findings are discussed. The implications for the various theoretical perspectives on Domestic Violence are discussed.
Batterers’ Anonymous, a program designed to address the issues of men who batter, has been in existence for nearly three decades. Evaluations of its success and failures are often mixed-whether the foci are recidivism, attitudinal assessments, or group dynamics. While reasons for mixed results vary, one reason deserving of further consideration is the unwillingness of batterers to take responsibility for their actions. As such, the purpose of this presentation is the explore issues relevant to a batterer’s denial of responsibility from a group facilitators perspective. In doing so, a critical overview of Batterers’ Anonymous programs is provided while exploring alternative treatment options.
Return to Schedule | Return to Montreal 2001 Main Page | Return to IALMH Main Page