De-centered and Influential Practice in Men's Behavior Change Programs: Possibilities and Challenges

Abstract

Post-structural ideas have influenced therapists to work more holistically with men who abuse and to view them as more than only their use of violence. This has created possibilities for collaborative and restorative work that diverges from the didactic and punitive engagement that typified early work in Men's Behaviour Change Programs (MBCPs). This article explores how practitioners can remain open to collaborative and holistic practice with men who abuse while privileging the safety of women and children. It explores therapeutic frameworks that assume that men have preferences for safe and respectful relationships. These frameworks hold practitioners accountable to a de-centered and influential therapeutic posture that challenges the rhetoric that men cannot or do not want to change their abusive behaviors.