CLINICAL TOOLS
Clinical tools
Partner support record
Program providers vary in how they record partner support. This form could be used for programs wishing a more structured approach than case notes. Ideally, the form would be used to record every partner contact, except for brief administrative or logistical calls.
The prompts, areas of enquiry and suggested questions in the form are intended to provide guidance and with a few exceptions are not imperative. Partner support workers should draw on their own and their organisation’s practice wisdom to engage and work with each unique woman. In that process, the partner support worker needs a clear sense of where her questions are leading, her purpose in asking them and how she will make sense of answers and formulate action plans.
The fields in the form do not need to be addressed sequentially and not every area will necessarily be covered during every contact with a woman. However, the following should be covered or reviewed at each contact:
- the man’s behaviour and the level of risk associated with that behaviour
- the woman's level of fear
- the wellbeing and support needs of the woman
- the wellbeing and support needs of any children or young people
- safety plans for the woman and any children or young people.
It is critical to note that this partner support record is not a substitute for systematic risk assessments conducted at regular intervals and in the context of any critical incident.
Partner support form
Prompts /areas of enquiry/suggested questionsName
Date of contact / Worker’s name:
Form of contact / Phone
Face-to-face
Email / Duration of contact:
Presentation / engagement / For example, mood, affect, how the woman participated in the conversation.
Changes in circumstances for woman or her children / For example, accommodation, employment, contact with other services, substance use.
Man’s use of violence and controlling behaviours since last contact / For initial partner contact and/or the partner contacts focusing on risk assessment, use risk assessment tools and the checklist of violent and controlling behaviours to document this—indicate only main themes and general conclusions here.
Otherwise, document new behaviours (or further details / new information concerning previous behaviours) here.
Discuss specific incidents of violence and controlling behaviours—not just her overall impressions.
Explore how his violence is changing, if at all—what might be getting better, what might be getting worse, etc.
Initiate a risk review and risk management plan if appropriate.
Changes in risk indicators and safety concerns since last contact / Check on upcoming risks that the woman anticipates.
Initiate a risk review and risk management plan if appropriate.
Level and nature of fear for herself / For example:
- How afraid does she feel around him?
- How afraid does she feel for her physical safety?
- What does she think he might be at risk of doing?
- How afraid she is of him using emotional abuse against her?
- What impact is the fear having?
Level and nature of her children’s fear, and her fear for her children / For example:
- How afraid do children feel around him?
- How afraid does she feel for children’s physical safety?
- What does she think he might be at risk of doing to the children?
- What impact is the fear having?
Beliefs about the violence / Explore:
- her narratives about the violence, for example, about responsibility for the violence
- why she thinks he behaves as he does
- whether she is making excuses for him
- what she seems willing to name as violence (and what she is more hesitant about)
- her responses when you talk about how he is 100 per cent responsible, or that his drinking doesn’t cause his violence, etc.
Effects of his violence on her and her children / Explore these issues sensitively—the narrative on effects might deepen through successive contacts as trust builds.
Supports and safety planning / Explore:
- who she is talking to about the violence
- who else she could talk to for support
- what helps her to cope (check whether any of these coping mechanisms create problems of their own or put her at more risk, such as use of alcohol)
- supports for children and young people.
- construct a safety plan if required
- check currency of safety plan if she already has one (and revise as necessary)
- provide information on safety if required.
General mental health status and sense of wellbeing / For women and children, check:
- depression
- anxiety
- suicide risk
- risk of self harm
- trauma reactions
- the feelings they report
- their activities of daily life (leaving the house, eating, sleeping, playing)
Agency / Explore and validate the steps she takes to try to keep herself and her children safe.
Explore what she does to maintain some control and dignity in her life.
Goals and expectations / If first contact
- what hopes does she have for her and her children’s future?
- what are her hopes for the relationship?
- If she wants the relationship to continue:
- what changes does she want to see in his behaviour?
- what impact or difference would these changes make?
- how does she react to the idea that he might not change his behaviour through the program in ways that she would want?
Explore whether she has had any thoughts of ending the relationship. Emphasise importance of not making decisions about the relationship based on her partner’s participation in the program.
If he is not changing through the program, what is she thinking this might mean for her goals and her options?
Feedback to program / Any information needs or queries she made regarding the program, and how you responded to these.
Anything that she believes the program should focus on in order to address particular aspects of his behaviour.
Signs that he is using the program against her / Explore what he is telling her / sharing about the program, and his participation in it (this is an opportunity to correct some myths and to see if he is being deceitful). In particular, check whether he is:
- pressuring her to use any of the strategies that he’s been shown in the program
- giving her messages that “I’m making efforts to change, you need to do the same”
- telling her that he’s not as bad as the other men and that his problem isn’t that big
- expecting gratitude, reward or praise from her for making changes.
Other notes and action for follow up
Participant check-in form
This self-administered form for men can be used to collect information to supplement that provided or disclosed during the course of group sessions. It is best used periodically, for example at four weekly intervals, but could also be abridged for use as a weekly check-in.
This form can also be used as a semi-structured interview tool in the course of an individual face-to-face session; however, its primary purpose is to encourage self-reflection and provide the program with recent / updated information from the man’s perspective.
If implemented during a group session, the form is best introduced at the start of the session or during the break, so that men have time to process what they have written on the form during the session. This is particularly important so that men who disclose the use of violence on the form have an opportunity to discuss these disclosures in the group context. In general, such disclosures to the group should be encouraged.
Alternatively, completion of the form could be set as a homework task, with men either mailing their form in (using a stamp self-addressed envelope provided by the program) or handing it into the facilitator at the start of the next session.
Men with low levels of literacy or understanding of written English might need help with this form.
Participant check-in form
This form is designed to prompt you to think about your current behaviour and how people in your family might be experiencing your behaviour at the moment. When you are completing the form, it is important to be honest. Lying to yourself or to us is not going to help anyone.
You might find you don't like seeing some things written down. But you might also unexpectedly find there are positive changes. What matters most is that these things are coming to your attention, and that you are communicating them
to us.
How physically safe do you think your (ex)partner and family currently feel around you?
Extremely unsafe / Completely safe1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10
How emotionally safe do you think your partner, ex-partner and family currently feel around you
Extremely unsafe / Completely safe1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10
Positive behaviour
Describe one way in the past week in which you kept yourself from being aggressive or successfully used something you learned in group. The success can be large or small.What other strategies are you using to keep those around you and yourself safe from your violence?
In the period specified by the facilitator, have you done any of the following?
ACTIONS / YES / NOBroken and/or thrown anything
Raised your voice at your (ex)partner or children
Directly or indirectly threatened to hurt your (ex)partner
Made yourself the boss around money
Called your (ex)partner or children names, made putdowns or told them to shut up
Used stand-over tactics to get your way
Intimidated your (ex)partner and/or children in any way
Tried to pressure your (ex)partner to do what you want
Pressured your (ex)partner to forgive you or take you back
Physically harmed your (ex)partner or children
Broken any court conditions
Pressured your (ex)partner for sex, got angry when she wouldn’t have sex or forced her to have sex
Ignored your (ex)partner or children
Spoken to your (ex)partner about dropping charges
Blamed your (ex)partner or kids for your actions
Harassed your (ex)partner via text, email, phone, or unexpected visits
Kept track of your (ex)partner by following her, watching her, reading her emails, or doing drive-bys her house or workplace
Made trouble when picking up or dropping off the children
In the period specified by the facilitator, have you noticed any of the following?
ACTIONS / YES / NO / N/AYour (ex)partner or children crying
Your (ex)partner or children acting frightened of you
Your (ex)partner or children seeming to be staying out of your way
Your (ex)partner or children working hard to not upset you
In the period specified by the facilitator, have any of the following things happened?
ACTIONS / YES / NO / N/AYou leaving the house for 'time out'
You being asked to leave the house
The police being called
Your (ex)partner asking you to calm down
Your partner leaving
Your (ex)partner asking you not to call her
Your (ex)partner asking you to not come over any more
Risk of future violence
What do you see as the risk of you acting in a violent or abusive way over the coming month?
NO RISK / HIGH RISK1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
Why have you rated the risk in this way?
Goals
What are three of the goals that you’d like to work towards over the coming month?What would achieving these goals look like to yourself and to others?
Goal / What this would look like to me / What this would look like to othersChanges to your situation
Indicate if any of the following things have changed for you. If they have changed, please discuss with the facilitator during the break or at the end of the session.
ACTIONS / YES / NOAddress or phone number
Economic circumstances/job
Relationship (for example, partner leaving, you starting a new relationship)
New police/court involvement
Family court/Child Support Agency arrangements
Contact orders or child access arrangements
Compliance with court orders (for example, ADVO, bail, bond, parole conditions)
Mental/psychological health and/or medication
Please provide details of any of the changes you ticked above.
If you are in a new relationship, please provide that person’s name and contact details, and details of any children they have.
Session summary form
This form enables facilitators to record and track their observations of each participant’s behaviours, values and attitudes in the group, according to six dimensions. These dimensions attempt to synthesise a number of (but by no means all) elements of praxis (see page 139), and can be modified by program providers to reflect the elements of practice appropriate to that program.
The form can be used as part of post-session debriefing to record:
- the facilitators’ ratings of each man across a number of dimensions
- any risk indicators, safety concerns or other issues that have arisen in the session.
As many programs do not have the resources to make individual file notes regarding each man’s participation after every session, this form is a way of capturing some (but not all) of the information required to keep track of changes or issues arising for individual men through the program. Men’s individual ratings can be mapped onto their review forms (see page 4), and compared against information obtained from partners.
It is critical to keep in mind that while the facilitators’ ratings represent their best knowledge of the man, taking into account their own observations, and (to a limited extent) the man's disclosures, these ratings may not match the man’s actual behaviour as experienced by his (ex)partner and children. In this situation, unless there are significant clinical reasons to the contrary, the reports of the man's family should prevail.
This form is adapted with permission from Whitehorse Community Health Service, Box Hill, Victoria.
CLINICAL TOOLS
Session summary
Group and session number: / Facilitators:Name / R / I / D / C / O / A / Comments
Score each dimension using a scoring system of - 3 (very negative) to 3 (very positive).
Responsibility-taking
Admits the nature and level of his
violent behaviour
Accepts and understands the types and breadth of his use of violence and
controlling behaviour
Does not minimise, deny, justify or
blame partner or external factors for his use of violence
Does not play 'the victim'
Does not use violence-supporting
narratives and beliefs to make a case for his use of violence
Does not collude with other participants’ attempts to minimise responsibility
Challenges other members’ use of violence and the excuses they make / Other-centredness
Does not display or collude with sexist understandings or comments
Speaks respectfully about his partner
and children
Speaks respectfully about women and children in general
Understands the perspectives and emotions of those affected by his violence
Understands the effects of his violence
on others
Understands how those in his family might be responding to him due to his past (and present) use of violence
Shows genuine empathy rather than only intellectualising these understandings
Feels other-centred rather than self-
centred remorse
Interactions with others in the group
and facilitators
Attended session on time
Lets others speak without interrupting
Listens intently to what others say
Acknowledges and responds positively
to others
Does not interrogate or overly try to fix the problems of others
Was not disruptive or dominant / Conceptualisation
Understands discussion, concepts and strategies towards change
Engages openly with new ideas and perspectives
Participates actively in group activities focusing on particular topics or themes
Reflects on his own behaviour
Identifies his entitlement-based and self-righteous attitudes and behaviours
Depth of participation
Shows interest and engagement
Displays attentive body language and nonverbal behaviours
Speaks with feeling
Reveals struggles, feelings, fears and
self-doubts
Does not withhold or evade issues
Is not defensive
Does not use humour inappropriately
Engages in homework tasks / Application
Talks about attempts to use strategies to avoid violence
Acts to keep partner and children safe
Does homework tasks and/or attempts to apply what was covered in recent sessions
Discusses options with others in the group and/or the facilitators
Is open on how to improve the application of strategies, and to new strategies