Mindfulness Treatments for Domestic Violence: A Review

Despite high costs of domestic violence (DV) to survivors and witnesses, widely used treatments do not consistently reduce violence perpetration. Although research has only begun to examine third wave treatments targeting DV, components such as mindfulness demonstrate preliminary support for reducing underlying symptomatology, including trauma symptoms, personality disorder features, emotion dysregulation, and substance use. This paper provides a brief review of mindfulness interventions for individuals referred for DV treatment, with a focus on the population most often referred for DV treatment – cisgender heterosexual men. Databases were searched for studies of adults in therapies that targeted DV and included component of mindfulness and skills training. Six studies of five treatments targeting DV met criteria for inclusion. Preliminary results support potential utility of DV treatments that incorporate mindfulness – with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy interventions currently having the most evidence. Common elements of the treatments included a focus on clients’ individual values; motivation/engagement strategies; addressing avoidance of emotions; managing urges/impulses; understanding relationships between cognitions, emotions, and behaviors; and reinforcement of adaptive behaviors. Despite the early stages of the literature, the largely positive results of the mindfulness treatments examined in this review suggest an initial foundation for further research.