Learned Helplessness: Implications and Applications

behavior and discovered in his research that dogs that had received unavoidable electric shocks
failed to take action in subsequent situations (Nolen, 2015). The experiment was replicated
with human samples, using loud noise as opposed to electric shock, yielding similar result.
Seligman called the behavior as “learned helplessness”, describing it as the conditioned
expectation that an outcome from a situation is not changeable nor avoidable. The theory has
been applied not just to women showing the battered syndrome, but to many situations and
behaviors. These include depression, aging, domestic violence, discrimination, parenting,
academic achievement, drug abuse and alcoholism (Nolen, 2015).

The second theory was developed by Dr.

Lenore Walker, she is known as “the mother of
the battered woman syndrome”. Her theory, or the cycle of theory of battering, is composed of
3 phases. Phase 1 is known as the tension building phase. During this phase, a woman feels that
the man becomes edgy and more prone to react negatively to frustration. In response, she may
become more nurturing, complain or may stay out of his way. In this phase, she does not allow
herself to become angry with him reasoning that she may deserve the abuse (Dr. Walker,
unkwn).
Phase 2 is the acute battering incident. In this phase, sometimes the woman
may provoke it, just to get it over with, release the tension, maintain some sense of control
and to get to the third phase of loving and calm. The man fully accepts that his rage is out of
control. He starts with a justification but ends not understanding what has happened (Dr.
Walker, unkwn).
Phase 3, the final phase, involves the loving kind and contrite behavior. He fears that
she will leaves, so he does everything and promises everything to prevent it. His reasons may
persuade her that he really can change. This phase is the coming true of all the good things that
romantic love is supposed to provide. Then, we are back at phase one and the cycle continues
and does not end (Dr. Walker, unkwn).

VI. Treatment

The Battered Woman Syndrome has been identified as a subcategory of posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD). Although not all battered women meet all the criteria for PTSD, an
abundant number of them do. Some form of trauma treatment is most helpful (Walker, 2009).

A battered woman needs to feel support when she describes the abuse. This can be
done by emphasizing the positive things she did to protect her and her children if they were
involved. She must be assured that no matter what she may had done or said, no one deserves
to be abused. She should not be asked if she did something to provoke the abuser nor insinuate
it (Walker, 2009).Trauma therapy helps a battered woman to understand that she is not insane
and that that she is not the only woman dealing with the psychological symptoms that come
from exposure to trauma.

Without the use of trauma-specific therapy techniques, a battered
woman may be unable to move past barriers that make it more difficult for her to deal with her
situation. Thus, focusing on the external trauma triggers, rather than on her own internal
issues, will help heal a battered woman symptoms (Walker, 2009).
Typical trauma triggers include the memory of the way the batterer’s face or eyes look
when he begins his abuse, the curse words he shouts, a particular phrase he uses to demean or
humiliate, or even the aftershave he uses or other odors he emits during the abuse. Startle
responses and hypervigilance to cues of violence are the last symptoms of BWS to be
extinguished. In many women, these cues or trauma triggers never totally go away. This
sensitivity can interfere with new relationships. It is often necessary to help a new intimate
partner develop patience and understanding to save the new relationship, provided that it is
non abusive. Despite the myth that women often go from one abusive relationship to another,
statistics suggest that fewer than 10% of all battered women do so. Battered woman symptoms
may reoccur even after recovery if a new stressor or trauma is experienced. Some women

may
be empowered by getting a restraining order or by taking actions that lead to the arrest of
the batterer (Walker, 2009).

For some women litigation, particularly in contentious child custody cases, may
exacerbate stress. Mental health professionals can help abused woman get through these
stressful times by making sure that the risk of further abuse is as low as possible. An
explanation of the symptoms of BMS can help juries understand when a battered woman kills
in self-defense; it helps to meet the legal burden that a woman has a reasonable perception of
imminent danger, although not immediate, but about to happen in any moment. It is important
to explain how the woman’s fear and anxiety are triggered when a new battering incident is
perceived as about to happen (Walker, 2009). It is helpful for forensic mental health evaluators
to have copies of previous therapy records in which the woman’s comments about abuse and
fear of the batterer are recorded. In rare cases battered women will kill their abusive partners
rather than let themselves be killed. As cited by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, fewer than
1200 battered women kill their batterers, whereas over 4000 women are killed by the men who
batter them. The most deadly time for a woman is when the batterer believes that their
relationship is over. At this point, batterers often threaten to kill rather than to let their partner
go (Walker, 2009).
VII. Legal Issues

Many battered women are involved in legal issues. They need the attention of a
psychotherapist that helps her to get through that stressful time. Also, they need to be helped
to understand what they need to do and to provide the information that her
attorney needs. The Federal Violence against Women Act provides
numerous legal remedies, including declaring abuse as a violation of a woman’s human rights
with subsequent opportunity for a federal lawsuit under the Civil Rights Statute (Walker, 2009).

Litigation frequently involves child custody and access to children. Each state has its
own laws regarding parental responsibility but they all usually presume that it is in the best
interests of the children to have equal access to both parents. Unfortunately, batterers often
use the children to continue their control over their ex-wives. That makes it difficult, dangerous,
and usually impossible, to share parental responsibility (Walker, 2009). Nevertheless, the parent whom the
family court judge considers most likely to facilitate a friendly relationship with the other
parent is often given greater access to the children. Mothers who try to protect their children
from fathers who lack good parenting skills, or who are actually abusing the children, are
frequently seen as engaging in “hostile and aggressive parenting,” “parental alienation
syndrome,” or other similar non-empirically based disorders. They often lose custody and
sometimes even no access to their children (Walker, 2009).

VIII. Conclusion

Whether is brought down generationally or it is in contribution to an mental condition, one
thing that I know for sure is that there is a lot more that contributes to tha Battered Woman
Syndrome than what I have able to expose in this research paper. We can go over family
history, psychological theories or the repetitive pattern of physical abuse and these all play a
major role in it. In my opinion, a lot more needs to be done to fully understand this
syndrome. It is interesting that, after being first introduced in the legal system in the 1970s, we
have come a long way in the past 47 years and now every jurisdiction in the United States
accepts expert testimony on battered woman syndrome as a defense. The creation of victim
services/victim advocacy programs in the criminal justice system has been very helpful to seek
justice and treatment for battered women.