Quick Takes with David Mandel

For almost two decades, the Safe & Together Model has been using the concept of coercive control to improve assessments of perpetrators’ patterns of behavior. Instead of a limited focus on physical violence, the Safe & Together Model embraces the understanding that the robust and more comprehensive concept of coercive control offers one of the best ways to understand how domestic violence perpetrators create danger and harm for adult and child survivors. This Quick Take session will dive into the concept of coercive control, how it shapes the Safe & Together Model and how to use the concept to improve your practice.

Asia Pacific
Friday, December 15th, 2023 10:00 am Melbourne Time

Europe
Thursday, December 14th, 2023 1:00 pm London Time

North America
Thursday, December 14th, 2023 1:00 pm New York

Agencies and practitioners fall along a continuum of practice. At one end of the spectrum are professional behaviors that can put survivors in greater danger or cause them unnecessary harm, i.e., domestic violence-destructive practice. At the other end is the practice associated with partnering with survivors and intervening with perpetrators as parents. This Quick Take will help you understand where you fall on the Continuum of Domestic Violence-Informed practice. 

The use or misuse of parental alienation in the family court environment, especially in domestic violence cases, is a major source of controversy. This occurs despite the fact that, by definition, parental alienation is not applicable in situations where there are even suspicions of child abuse or domestic violence. Drawing on David Mandel’s book “Stop Blaming Mothers and Ignoring Fathers: How to Transform the Way We Keep Children Safe From Domestic Violence,” this Quick Take session will explore the misapplication of parental alienation in domestic violence cases and alternative approaches to keeping the focus on the harm to children caused by domestic violence perpetrators’ behaviors.