Accountability for Change:
 Solution-Focused Treatment of Domestic Violence Offenders
 with Adriana Uken

At the March 2010 Signs of Safety Gathering Adriana Uken will present an innovative solution-focused, group treatment program for domestic violence offenders.

The Plumas Project involves only 8 one-hour per week group sessions. Building on a strengths perspective, the programme holds the offender accountable for solutions instead of focusing on problems and has demonstrated that positive and long-lasting changes can occur in a relatively brief period of time by using ‘solution-talk’ instead of ‘problem-talk’. Without minimizing or denying the destructiveness of violent behaviours, the programme aims at empowering the group participant so that he/she can discover and reconnect with his or her strengths and resources to build a more satisfying life. This treatment program uses the language and symbols of solution and strengths as opposed to the language of deficits and blame and utilizes goals to provide an immediate and relevant context for participants to discover viable solutions to their problems. Goals are then amplified, supported and reinforced and participants’ goal accomplishment is used to assist their efforts to eliminate violence from their lives.

Through 14 years of independent research the program has shown low recidivism rates of 16.7%, and a very high completion rate of 92.8%. These are remarkable figures compared to 40-60% recidivism and about 50% completion for traditional programs. The latest peer-reviewed, published data on the programme is available in the journal article, Lee, M. Y., Sebold, J., & Uken, A. (2007). Role of Self-Determined Goals in Predicting Recidivism in Domestic Violence Offenders Research on Social Work Practice (17): 30-42. The article is available as a link here

A comprehensive description of the approach is presented in the book, Lee, M. Y., Sebold, J., & Uken, A. (2003). Solution-focused treatment with domestic violence offenders: accountability for change. New York: Oxford University Press.

Adriana’s presentation will offer her ideas and experience about how to:

• Hold offenders accountable for solutions
• Transfer ‘resistance’ into cooperation
• Deal with hostility and defensiveness and what to avoid when working with DV offenders
• Help offenders set meaningful goals that eliminates violence
• Utilise and focus on small strengths and changes to build lasting change

Adriana Uken is a clinical social worker and solution-focused therapist from Northern California. Frustrated with the ineffectiveness of most domestic violence offender treament programmes, Adriana and John Sebold, began creating a solution-focused alternative in 1990 they called the ‘Plumas Project’. Dr. Mo-Yee Lee at Ohio State University has led ongoing independent research on the programme and together Mo Yee, John and Adriana have published extensively on the project. In 2003 they co-authored a book entitled Solution-Focused Treatment of Domestic Violence Offenders: Accountability for Change published by Oxford University Press. Adriana has also facilitated solution-focused groups for parents of children in the juvenile justice system. Adriana’s innovative work with offenders teamed with the research demonstrating its efficacy means Adriana is in increasing demand in the U. S., Canada, Europe and Asia.