The Long and Dual Journey to Violence-Focused Couple Therapy: A Multiperspective Qualitative Study with Couples and their Therapists

Abstract Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health and clinical concern. Research indicates that IPV occurs more frequently among couples seeking therapy than in the general population. However, it is often not disclosed at the time of referral and instead emerges gradually through the therapeutic process. This qualitative study examines the process by which IPV becomes the main focus of conjoint therapy in cases where it was not initially disclosed. Using a multiperspective Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), we conducted and analyzed separate interviews with 13 participants, four heterosexual couples and their therapists, who were engaged in ongoing therapy at the Norwegian Family Counselling Service at the time of the interviews. The analysis resulted in two main group experiential themes that illuminate a dual-journey process towards violence-focused couple therapy comprising two interrelated phases: the Pre-Therapy Journey , which includes the sub-themes: (1) Women’s Agency in Initiating Change , (2) Children as Catalysts for Change , (3) Critical Threshold: Reaching “Enough is Enough” , and (4) The History and Impact of Unsuccessful Help-Seeking Attempts ; and the In-Therapy Journey , which encompasses the sub-themes: (5) Is It Violence? Internal and Relational Negotiations and (6) Beyond “Repair”? Relational and Therapeutic Consequences of Long-term Patterns of IPV . Together, these six sub-themes constitute a dynamic and temporally layered understanding of how IPV becomes the primary focus of couple therapy. The discussion introduces the Dual Journey Model, providing a conceptual framework and practical guidance for enhancing clinical and organizational capacity to develop IPV-sensitive and safer couple therapy interventions.