Treatment of Dating Abuse

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Connections By Char Kamper
        The Connections curriculum was written to help adolescents learn the skills needed for dating, healthy long-term relationships and, eventually, marriage. Char Kamper has worked with secondary students for the past twenty years and observed first hand the physical and psychological damage in teens that results from poor partner choices. She has used the work of Don Fernando Azevedo, PhD, Kimm Campbell, George Doub, MDiv and others in developing the program. Her curricula identify specific behaviors and attitudes in relationships that are problematic and lead to partner or spouse abuse after marriage. 
        Adolescents who use the Connections curricula are provided information on problem personality patterns that lead to relationship difficulties and failure.  The curriculum also helps teenagers deal with the emotions that are associated with deep feelings for another person, how to leave an unhealthy relationship, and how to build the skills that lead to higher self esteem and positive life choices. Evaluations of Connections: Relationship and Marriage indicate a decrease in peer-to-peer physical violence.

Love U2^® By Marline Pearson
        Marline Pearson is a criminologist with a long background in teaching domestic violence prevention. She is familiar with the Duluth model of power and control as well as Steven Stosney's Compassion Power abuse treatment and prevention. In the development of Love U2^® she consulted with young adults who had been in abusive relationships who helped shape messages that would have helped them. In addition she has consulted closely with Anne Menard and with Mike Johnson, both experts in the field of domestic violence.
Love U2^® teaches teens how to recognize abuse -- emotional, verbal and physical, to become aware of the risks, early warning signs, and steps to take. The program also offers ways to assess the "health and safety" of a relationship. It not only teaches teens what to avoid, but also strongly teaches them how to create relationships that are healthy and respectful. It is currently being evaluated at Auburn University as an intervention to reduce teen relationship abuse. Preliminary findings show a significant reduction in verbal aggression.

The Art of Loving Well Developed By Nancy McLaren
        The issues of violence prevention—at home, in school, and in the larger society –are central to the Masters of Arts in teaching programs at both Harvard University and Boston University where developers of The Art of Loving Well have earned graduate degrees and taught classes.
        The Loving Well curriculum is designed to cultivate the full range of communication skills, and it emphasizes conflict resolution in particular. Student activities include role-playing, writing assignments and discussions about how conversations or events in individual stories might have been altered to achieve happier outcomes.