To reduce incidents of domestic
abuse, you must change the behavior of
the abusers.
Anger, stress, poor communication, low
self-esteem, insecurity, childhood exposure
to and experience with violence and substance
abuse can all contribute to domestic abuse.
The New Behaviors Program provides group
counseling sessions for domestic abusers
in anger management, self-regulation and
relationship-building skills in order to
reduce their tendencies toward domestic
abuse.
The program is based on the approach that violence
is learned behavior that can be unlearned.
The sessions are designed to:
Motivate perpetrators to end their
abusive behavior
Provide strategies for abusers to cope
with anger and difficult relationship
conflicts
Help abusers develop constructive relationship
skills
Building Constructive Relationships
Through counseling, abusers are taught:
How to listen
How to non-aggressively express their
desires and emotions
How to effectively solve problems
How to compromise
20-Week Sessions:
Abusers attend two-hour group sessions
every week for 20 weeks.
Perpetrators sign up voluntarily or are
court-ordered to attend.
Additional Services:
Clients who need additional assistance
can receive:
An Individualized assessment
Individual counseling
Referral to services for substance
abuse or psychiatric problems
In Partnership With UMBC
The New Behaviors program is affiliated
and benefits from a partnership with
the Department
of Psychology at the University of
Maryland Baltimore County.
New Behaviors is supervised and administered
by Christopher Murphy, Ph.D., an Associate
Professor and Director of Clinical Training
at UMBC. He is also an instructor in the
Department of Psychiatry at the Harvard
Medical School and a licensed psychologist
in Maryland.
Through the partnership, doctoral
students in clinical psychology provide
counseling and other support to the New
Behaviors program while receiving training
and supervised clinical experience.
