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Tracee Parker, Psy.D., is a 2017 graduate of the PsyD Program in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University, Seattle.

Dissertation Committee:

  • Patricia Linn, Ph.D., Committee Chair
  • Anne Ganley, Ph.D., Committee Member
  • Joan DuBuque, J.D., Committee Member

Keywords

vicarious battering, post-separation battering, supervised visitation, accounting for battering in supervised visitation, intervening in battering, domestic violence, qualitative, phenomenology

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2016

Abstract

This descriptive phenomenological research illustrated the experience of women who worked in a supervised visitation program (SVP) specifically developed to address safety concerns related to allegations of domestic violence. The SVP policies and procedures were designed not only to prevent physical assault and abduction but also to intervene in vicarious battering—a term introduced to describe the attempts by men who battered to exert control over, undermine, and/or intimidate the mothers of their children via interactions with their children and the visitation staff. The results of this research demonstrated the challenges of intervening in the context of court-ordered supervised visitation. Data for this study were collected via semi-structured interviews with ten individuals who worked at the SVP for over a year and participated in regularly scheduled case consult meetings. The phenomenological methods of reduction and imaginative variation were used to analyze participant interviews and answer the question: How did the staff of a specialized supervised visitation and exchange program experience the assigned task of increasing safety for survivors of intimate partner violence and their children while decreasing opportunities for further battering? Data analysis revealed three important elements of the task: Being grounded in the mission of increasing safety and decreasing opportunities to batter, knowing they were safe and supported, and feeling connected to the work of addressing domestic violence.

Comments

Tracee Parker, Psy.D., 2017.

ORCID Scholar# 0000-0001-9073-9148

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