Transformative Journeys: Women Healing From Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Much of the research on intimate partner violence (IPV) understandably concentrates on the devastating physical, emotional, and psychological consequences for the women who experience this form of trauma. However, a developing area of research has focused on women’s healing from IPV. The purpose of this study was to identify themes of healing in the narratives of ten women who have experienced IPV, and to explore what these themes reveal about the participants’ healing journeys. A thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) of the data identified three themes of healing in the women’s narratives: Understanding and Insight, Renewal and Reconstruction, and Transformation and Meaning. These themes revealed that the women’s healing journeys involved a multidimensional, personalized, non-linear, and often transformative process that operated within their interior selves and through their relationships. This study adds to the literature on women’s healing from intimate partner violence, and discusses implications for practice and suggestions for future research.