Individual therapeutic approaches to reducing mental health symptoms and risk of future violence among adults involved in intimate partner violence: Systematic review

This systematic review found that individual therapeutic interventions for adults affected by intimate partner violence, particularly CBT and potentially EMDR and humanistic approaches, may improve depression, anxiety, and trauma symptoms.

Article Abstract

“Intimate partner violence (IPV) among adults is a major global public health concern associated with significant physical and psychological consequences. Although therapeutic interventions have increasingly been developed to address the mental health effects of IPV and reduce future violence risk, limited evidence exists regarding the effectiveness of individual therapeutic interventions for survivors and perpetrators across diverse populations. This systematic review synthesizes evidence on individual therapeutic interventions for adults affected by IPV, focusing on five outcomes: depression, anxiety, trauma symptoms, IPV victimization, and IPV perpetration. A comprehensive search without date restrictions was conducted across six databases in October 2024. Peer-reviewed studies were included if they evaluated an individual therapeutic intervention for IPV survivors and/or perpetrators and incorporated a control or comparison group. After screening 6,966 titles and abstracts, 29 studies published between 2000 and 2024 met the inclusion criteria. Most studies used randomized controlled trial designs and primarily focused on women survivors of IPV. Intervention approaches varied, with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) being the most frequently evaluated, followed by humanistic, advocacy-based, motivational, and trauma-focused approaches. Improvements were most consistently observed in depression, anxiety, and trauma-related outcomes, whereas IPV-related outcomes demonstrated more variable effects. CBT showed promise for reducing depressive symptoms, whereas smaller studies examining humanistic and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing approaches indicated potential benefits for broader mental health outcomes. Future research should prioritize long-term follow-up, culturally responsive interventions, and integrated approaches that address both psychological recovery and IPV-related safety outcomes overall.”

—Description from publisher

Article Access

Open Access

Camacho Soto, J. N., McArther, B. A., McMorris, C., Li, Q. K. W., Wilde, T., & Exner-Cortens, D. (2026). Individual therapeutic approaches to reducing mental health symptoms and risk of future violence among adults involved in intimate partner violence: Systematic review. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, OnlineFirst. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380261495024