This guide to the conceptual and practical issues associated with identifying and assessing battered women in mental health services challenges traditional mental health approaches to domestic violence. The author offers alternative strategies and procedures to improve the response to battered women, drawing on research from mental health assessment, his own surveys of battered women's services and the expertise of battered women advocates.

Topics covered include: how to establish a supportive environment that enhances disclosure of woman battering; procedures to avoid misdiagnosis; assessing women of different racial background; and assessing men who batter.