South Metro Men’s Respite: An innovative service for violent men

• Published in: Australasian psychiatry : bulletin of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2002-03, Vol.10 (1), p.20-23
• Main Authors: Pennebaker, Duane, Olesen, Terry
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Australia; Community based programmes; Domestic violence; Men; Mental health services; psychiatric morbidity; psychiatric services
• ISSN: 1039-8562; 1440-1665
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1440-1665.2002.00386.x

Objectives: The study describes the evaluation of an integrated men’s domestic violence respite centre, the South Metro Men’s Respite (SMMR), in Western Australia. In addition to recognising the novel approach of SMMR to client services, assessments of mental illness in clients presenting to the service were made and compared with available norms. Furthermore, the types of services provided by the SMMR were assessed against other Australian domestic violence programs for men. Conclusions: The results suggested that even with stringent assessment criteria, a large number of the SMMR’s presenting clients displayed symptoms of depression, anxiety, paranoia, and psychoticism at levels that indicated a need for treatment. The SMMR sample had levels of anxiety higher than that of the adult male psychiatric inpatients and outpatients, which would imply the suitability of the Assertive Community‐based Treatment (ACT) component of the service. The SMMR’s innovative approach aimed to meet service gaps in providing for men who are perpetrators of domestic violence. The service comparison review established that while seven other programs within Australia had provisions for child custody/parenting, spousal independence, addiction, personal responsibility, alternatives to violence, gender roles, and communication content, the ability to provide assertive outreach to the men was shared by only two other programs in Australia.