Question

Discuss the implications of both the abusive husband and the battered wife being patients of the practice.

Answer 1

Both abusive husband and battered wife are both components of domestic violence in intimate relationships happening between a husband and a wife. Here battered wife is the victim and abusive husband is guilty. When the two classes of patients are being treated, it can be seen that the psychology of both is completely different and incompatible. Here, the abusive husband is found to be more dominant, super egoistic and lacks empathy to almost 0%. An abusive husband is one who is found to go through three phases in a cyclic pattern. The first one is tension building, the second one is an explosion and the final one is honeymoon where he tries to resolve the issues caused due to his actions by getting gifts for his wife. This cycle continues in a never ending pattern as long as the relationship lasts. Battered wife, on the other hand, is one who is likely to have a syndrome called battered wife syndrome. Battered wife being patient is often found to be in any of the 4 stages which has happened primarily due to having an abusive husband, The 4 stages are denial, guilty, enlightenment and responsibility. The last stage is one where a woman would try her best to get a divorce or move out of the relationship and this is probably the phase when she would approach a counselor or mental health professional for help. The first two stages are usually found not to be reported by the battered wife to anyone but the third and fourth are the crucial ones where steps to heal the syndrome takes place by the victim.