A Logotherapeutic Approach
Dr. Lawrence Au
Abstract: Why do police officers engage in domestic violence? An experienced police
chaplain examines the reasons and offers an approach using a unique perspective
based on logotherapy.
KEY WORDS: police domestic violence, logotherapy
THE POLICE LOT
A policeman can experience loneliness, danger, stress, and at times, depression
while working. Their lot ends up as a difficult one (Blau, 1994).
As rookies, many police officers welcome any assignment courageously,
fearlessly, and wholeheartedly. Rookies exist in a highly emotional, charged state,
excited by responding to every crime scene and arresting every felon.
However, as they gradually move into their mid-law enforcement career paths
they often experience surprise by so much contrast between their lives in the
academy and real-life police work on the streets, and in the police station. They find
their aspirations toward upward momentum in their career paths slowing down,
becoming frustrated, or stalling completely. Such rookies may crash down if no
support system is provided and no suggestions to help get effectively or professionally
recharged. Eventually, they may end up as complainers and not comrades, quitters and
not winners.
Robinette (1987) indicates enthusiastic rookies who later become marginal
performers appear unmotivated and trouble making. Unaware police officers lacking
sensitivity to their own need professional counseling sooner or later, will find their
immediate supervisors designing a course of action to monitor their “unmotivated,
sometimes trouble-making" behaviors. Eventually they will either make it or break it.
For those who break it, a work mentality can spill into other relationships (Zamora,
1997).
Zamora (1997) points out, "In the population in general, studies indicate that
between 5 percent and 20 percent of women become victims of domestic violence."
But several studies, including one by the Southwestern Law Enforcement Institute,
indicate police officers assault loved ones twice as much as the civilian population.
THE EXPLORATION - DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Domestic violence occurs in all cultures, races, religious groups, and
socioeconomic levels. According to the FBI statistics, 1,530 women were killed in 1993
by their male partners. Many of them lived apart from their victims when the murders
occurred (Schmitt, 1997).
According to the California Penal Code, "Domestic violence . . .an abuse
committed against an adult or fully emancipated minor who . . .a spouse, former
spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or a person with whom the suspect has had a
child or has or had a dating or engagement relationship." Allison, (1998) provides
another definition, obtained from the Internet. "Domestic violence involves the
systematic use of force, threats, and intimidation by one partner upon another in order
for the dominating partner to have control over the victim."
DePue (1981) points out, "Marriage to a police officer involves coping with a
difficult lifestyle. . . Each development stage includes many predictable challenges,
crises, and problems requiring resolution before further progress in life adaptation can
continue "
The men and women who keep peace and order in their community at times
need confidantes to lead, heal, and nurture their growth in life and to assist them in
finding meaning in life again. They need to see the home, a place of love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentle- ness, and forgiveness. They cannot
react in every situation with excessive force, abusive language, or furious expression
of hidden rage, usually resulting in destructive activity or violence.
Some police departments have created their own Behavioral Science Units,
modeled after the FBI's, to effectively and positively respond to their own personnel's
critical distress situations.
ABUSIVE BEHAVIORS
Abusive behaviors manifest themselves when a family partner begins to maintain
power or control in his or her relationship. Batterers of female partners employ different
categories of abusive behaviors:
Economic Abuse
-Trying to keep the abused partner from getting or keeping a job.
-Making the abused partner ask for money, giving her an allowance, or taking
her money
Sexual Abuse
-Making the abused partner do sexual things against her will
-Physically attacking the sexual parts of the abused partners body
-Treating the abused partner like a sex object
Using the Children
-Making the abused partner feel guilty about the children
-Using the children to deliver messages
-Using visitation as a way to harass the abused partner
Threats
-Making or carrying out threats to do something to hurt the abused partner
-Threatening to take the children, commit suicide, or report the abused partner to
child welfare
Using Male Privilege
-Treating the abused partner like a servant
-Making all the decisions
-Acting like the "king of the castle"
Intimidation
-Making the abused partner fearful by using looks, actions, gestures, a loud
voice, or by smashing things or destroying the abused partner's property
Isolation
-Controlling what the abused partner does, whom she sees and talks to, or
where she goes
Emotional Abuse
-Putting the abused partner down or making her feel bad about herself
-Calling the abused partner names
-Making the abused partner think she is crazy
-Playing mind games
THE CHAPLAIN'S ROLE IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Law enforcement chaplains mirror other branches of chaplaincy, except for the
fact they primarily assist in or are associated with law enforcement. According to the
International Conference of Police Chaplains' Manual, a law enforcement chaplain's
job entails some or all of the following:
- Counsel peace officers
- Counsel the families of peace officers and other departmental personnel
- Visit sick and injured officers and departmental personnel in home and hospital
- Make death notifications
-Teach officers in areas such as Stress Management, Ethics, Family Life, and
Preretirement
- Serve as part of the Crisis Response Team
- Assist at suicide incidents
- Serve as Liaison with other clergy in the community
- Provide for the spiritual needs of prisoners
- Furnish expert answers for religious questions
- Offer a prayer at special occasions such as recruit graduations, awards
ceremonies, dedication of buildings
- Serve on review boards, award boards, and other committees
- Deal with transients and the homeless (DeRevere, 1988)
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN CLERGY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
As noted by the Law Enforcement Chaplaincy of Sacramento, California,
similarities exist between police officers and chaplains:
1. They both are to uphold laws and values decaying at a rapid pace.
2. They both are expected to be strong pillars of their communities, but are ridiculed
instead of revered.
3. They are often mocked openly and behind closed doors by people who need their
help the most.
4. Often they are called to help those in need when it is too late to bring a positive
closure to the situation.
5. The communities we serve seldom listen to our advice.
6. We both understand what it is like to never be off duty. We both understand what it
is like to always be a Law Enforcement officer or a pastor. We may take the uniform off,
but we still represent those offices.
7. The community will treat us as if we represent every bad minister, priest, or officer
they have ever known.
8. We are called upon to do things in our community that nobody else wants to do.
9. Law enforcement and clergy pay high emotional dues in fulfilling their charges.
10. The people we serve lie to us but expect us to always tell the truth, and often we
become the scapegoats in their misconduct.
11. Our community does not have any clue what law enforcement and clergy really do
on a daily basis yet they are constantly criticizing when things do not go their way.
12. We both deal with people who are always telling us why the laws or rules do not
apply to them
13. Both struggle against "THEM vs. US" mentality.
14. Both have many acquaintances but few friends (we find it hard to really trust
others).
15. We both encourage, support, and help others when we ourselves, at times, are in
desperate need of encouragement, support, and help.
16. Within our responsibilities the highs are very high and the lows are very low.
17. There is a great frustration in trying to help everyone who is in need.
18. There is a great frustration in watching people we help return to their previous
choices and lifestyle.
19. No matter how many people we help we always lose some, and it is never easy.
20. Sometimes we both feel that we are the only ones who care about right and wrong
and are read to quit. Maybe not in actuality, but as a mindset and attitude, it is
something with which we deal.
21. Clergy focuses on the spiritual and often ignores the reality of the other parts of life
and the need for healing there as well. Officers deal with physical problems and mental
problems and often refuse to believe that spiritual healing is necessary when in reality
we really do need each other to help mal< our community a better, safer, more
peaceful place to live. (0'Sullivan, 1998)
As we are about to enter into the twenty-first century, people are more focused
on spiritual ty. In fact, such a focus is becoming a key issue in the workplace.
According to the Los Angeles Times, it is not that corporate America has discovered
God - or Yahweh, Krishna, or Buddha, the Goddess or the Higher Power - all by itself;
rather, American workers lead the way. Americans has asked for prayer groups in
company conference rooms and to study the Bible, the Torah, and the Koran on their
lunch hour. To many, spirituality is a quest for meaning in a sea of confusion, an
antidote to the world's emptiness (La Ganga, 1998).
Micthell provides further support for the presence of the law enforcement by
placing chap-lains in a vital capacity throughout the critical incident stress debriefing
sessions (Mitchell, 1993). Gow, in a speech made at the 1992 International Conference
of Police Chaplains stated, "Because of what you [chaplains] do, law enforcement
officers successfully cope with whatever problems they confront. Even though these
problems might have otherwise rendered them ineffective. The ultimate loser in such a
scenario would be the American people, for it is their safety and security that would be
jeopardized by law enforcement being unable to function. I want you to know that your
(chaplains) efforts are truly appreciated by the FBI as well as by law enforcement
agencies across the country."
THE POLICE CHAPLAINS
P - PEACE C - COUNSELING
0 - OPTIMISM H - HEALING
L - LOVE A - ASSURING
I - INVOKING P - PROTECTING
C - CREATIVE L - LISTENING
E - EARNEST A - ASSISTING
I - INVOLVING
N - NURTURING
S - SUPPORTING
-FBI Chaplain Lawrence Au, D.MIN., D.D.
THE FOUNDER - VIKTOR FRANKL (1905-1997)
Frankl founded the Third School of Vienna. A world-renowned psychiatrist who
authored the bestseller Man's Search for Meaning and one of the last great
psychotherapists of this century after Freud and Adler. Frankl survived the horrible
holocaust, in spite of being locked up in four Nazi death camps, including Auschwitz, from
1942 to 1945. His parents and other members of his family perished in the death
camps.
Frankl developed his revolutionary approach to psychotherapy known as
LOGOTHERAPY while suffering in the Nazi concentration camps. His existential
analysis focuses on three tenets:
1. Life has meaning under all circumstance, even in the most miserable.
2. Man has a will to meaning, which is the main motivation for living.
3. Man has freedom to find meaning - in what he does, what he experiences, or
at least in the stand he takes in the face of a situation of unchangeable suffering.
(Lukas, 1986)
The author studied Logotherapy with Frankl in Vienna in 1985 and was
impressed by what Frankl advocated which was that the three major theories of the
famed schools of psychotherapy, eact emphasized the motivation of human will. They
come in the following order:
The School of Sigmund Freud - Will to Pleasure
The School of Alfred Adler - Will to Power
The School of Viktor Frankl - Will to Meaning
According to Frankl (1963), we can only find meaning in three ways:
1. By creating a work or doing a deed.
2. By experiencing something or encountering someone.
3. By the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering.
The ultimate goal for Frankl's logotherapy remains one of affirming the dignity
and freedom of man and his responsibility in whatever situation he finds himself.
Law enforcement officers hold fast to, the social relations that they cherished,
the police wor that they treasured, the family life that they enjoyed, and the religious
system that they uphold whe all goes well. However, when things go wrong in their
family relationship, their promotion bypassed, their budget never met, their own
children adversely involved with the law, the family partner having extramarital affairs,
the unfortunate officers begin to question the real meaning of life. The value system to
which they clung begins crumbling or fading. Frustration, anger, depression, and rage
begin to settle in. They cry, "What does life mean?"
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: A LOGOTHERAPEUTIC APPROACH
When police officers involved in domestic violence get referred to a law
enforceme chaplain with counseling training in a logotherapeutic approach, the
chaplain should possess these qualities:
1. Genuineness or congruence
2. Unconditional positive regard for the client
3. Sensitive and accurately empathic understanding of the client (Parsons, 1985)
When the client becomes aware someone will listen with empathy, the condition
of therapy exists. The chaplain can begin to employ a continuum process divided into
the following stages of renewal:
1. The technique of dereflection - The client has a deep sense of guilt, shame
and loss, and remorse over what has occurred, finding no more meaning in life, leaving
him or herself with feelings of void, emptiness, fear, and confusion. The chaplain
begins to guide the client into shifting his or her focus toward one religious symbol - for
example, the Christian Cross - which will open up a new dimension of discovery, a
sense of new direction, and the knowledge that tragedy is not the last word, but rather,
a blessing in disguise, like Job of Old.
2. The attitude of modulation - The chaplain guides his client to view his or her
own situation or issue from different perspectives. Such as the violence activities had
ceased, domestic life should return through a process of healthy upward mobility. This
can be achieved by the basic technique of logotherapy - the Socratic dialogue;
through which the chaplain leads with empathy to allow space for the crisis client to
look for his or her own resource and alongside the client as he or she discovers varied
meanings (such as drawing a fishbone life-story and comparing it with Joseph of Old).
3. Creating openness to new meanings - Frankl advocated that life has meaning
under all situations, no matter how bleak. Finding meaning remains the surest way to
overcome doubt, despair, and a sense of emptiness (Frankl, 1963). New meanings may
also be discovered like what C. S. Lewis stated: "God whispers to us in our pleasures,
speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf
world." (Wilkerson, 1987).
HELPING CRISIS CLIENTS TO MAKE NEW COMMITMENTS
AND TO PURSUE NEW GOALS
Helping the crisis clients to spend time studying Elijah of Old and model their
post-traumat-ic stress management skills after his. Carole Kanchier labeled optimistic,
self-reliant, innerdirected (or purpose driven), people, as QUESTER (Kanchier, 1998).
Questers always move. They move up, down, and sideways on the occupational
prestige ladder to achieve growth. They perceive failure as a learning experience and
measure success by internal standards. They reevaluate career goals periodically.
Other qualities include a sense of purpose, confidence, and resilience, the ability to
combine the best of male and female strength, and desires for such things as
autonomy, challenge, and achievement (Kanchier, 1998).
Logotherapy can help those going through the private pain caused by domestic
violence. Meaning and hope exist in it. Meaning and hope only come by discovery,
value system reassessment, and changes in thought patterns.
CONCLUSION
From a chaplain's perspective, logotherapy may assist these police officers
involved in domestic violence situations. Logotherapy strengthens our spiritual muscles,
motivates our will t meaning, and prepares us for the crisis to come. No one expects
you to explain suffering but rather to become the kind of person who can face suffering
and make it work for you and not against you. The trials of our life can be God's tools for
engraving his image on our character (Wiersbe, 1984).
Address correspondence concerning this article to Rev. Dr. Lawrence Au, FBI
Chaplain, 639-38th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94121
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