Bridging Pastoral Counseling and Social Work Practice: An Exploratory Study of Pastors' Perceptions of and Responses to Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Intimate partner violence is a prevalent yet highly underreported issue in the United States. Religious leaders are in a key position to help victims, particularly those who will not disclose the abuse to secular professionals such as police officers, doctors, and social workers. Church leaders tend to have close and trusting relationships, access to families' homes, are familiar with families' histories, and many times are the support to which victims turn. This study examines nine protestant pastors' perceptions of and responses to intimate partner violence as an exploratory study. Data were collected and analyzed through semistructured interviews and Strauss and Corbin's Grounded Theory. The findings illustrated that the majority of pastors perceive intimate partner violence as occurring to middle-aged women and being physical, emotional, and verbal in nature. The pastors reported that they assess, refer, and counsel the victims (and sometimes the couple together) and support divorce if necessary. The participants' avoidance toward intimate partner violence issues among their congregants were connected to their lack of training and access to resources. Implications for merging victim empowering counseling and pastoral counseling are discussed.