Abusive and Controlling Men as Fathers

Course Description

This interesting yet disturbing course will cover everything therapists and child welfare workers need to know related to domestic violence in the family, from the points of view of the victim, who is trapped, the batterer, who feels justified, and the children, who suffer tremendously.

The course was personally written by Susan McMillan, Florida-based therapist, domestic violence expert, and jury trial consultant, built from her real life experiences—not hypotheticals. It includes contributions from Matt McMillan, former police officer and prosecutor, bringing in the legal and law enforcement perspective that makes these courses so compelling.

This training walks through how domestic violence actually unfolds over time— beginning with the mindset of the batterer, to escalation, to post-separation risk, and the ways these dynamics may show up in your officre. There is a strong focus on trauma,  how chronic exposure shapes behavior and attachment, and what clinicians often misinterpret when they don’t understand the context of ongoing control.

You will also learn how to assess change in a batterer in a way that is grounded in reality—not his self-report. The course breaks down what meaningful behavioral change actually looks like so that you won't be fooled into complacency. In the latter portion, the focus shifts to application: how to assess credibility and document in a way that holds up under legal scrutiny. 

Included throughout the course are practical tools—handouts, checklists, and structured charts—that you can use in real time to guide assessment, support documentation, and bring more consistency to high-stakes decision-making. 

This is an engaging practical, experience-driven training for clinicians who want to feel confident recognizing or working with this at risk population and confidently make decisions they can stand behind—especially in cases where the stakes are high and the margin for error is small.

(5 CEU hours)

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, therapists will be able to:

• Understand the belief systems of men who batter and the women who love them
• Describe the impact of domestic violence on adult victims and children
• Identify risks to children who live with abusive fathers.
• Identify specific action batterers take that harm children, even if they have not been physically abusive.
• Understand the necessary context for children’s recovery from exposure to battering behavior.
• Identify the five critical components for a best practice approach for child welfare advocates and investigators.
• Assess credibility in domestic violence cases by evaluating patterns of behavior, collateral information, and inconsistencies beyond self-report.
• Know how to build a partnership with the non-offending parent.
• Have a menu of expectations for batterers who are willing to change.
• Be familiar with a curriculum for abusive/controlling men who are parents.
• Effectively assess and document change in batterers in a manner that is clear, defensible, and appropriate for legal and clinical review.