We have the best chance to reach people who do serious harm in treatment programs that do not label them as bad or sick, but rather enhance self-respect while accepting no excuses for violent behavior. When one has physically harmed another person, the words “I’m sorry” are obviously not enough. More is required. The offending party may do jail time, public service, or meaningful volunteer work. One man I worked with who had hit his wife worked Saturday mornings and gave the money to a safe house for women, as part of his desire to show his wife how seriously he took his past out-of-control
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