Evaluation of integrative community therapy with domestic violence survivors in Quito, Ecuador

Integrative community therapy (ICT) is a methodology used in the public health arena to deal with problems facing communities such as depression, substance abuse, and stress. This approach is unique as it builds on critical pedagogy, cultural anthropology, communication, resilience, and systems theory. Additionally, creative arts therapies point to the utility of music as a therapeutic tool. This study employed ICT and a music workshop with domestic violence survivors in Quito, Ecuador, via a pre-post comparison group design. A total of 87 women completed the six-week study—49 in the intervention group and 38 in the comparison group. Measures were taken on self-esteem, general health, resilience, dating violence attitudes, and social support. Additionally, the intervention group answered open-ended questions about their experience, and some participated in a focus group (n = 21). The quantitative results indicated that there was improvement in the domains of general health, self-esteem, and social support for the intervention group compared to the comparison group. Themes from the qualitative responses indicated changes in the relationship with the aggressor, psychological and emotional changes, changes in feelings of social support, and changes for the future. The study found promising results for this approach with domestic violence survivors, possibly leading to a community-grounded, non-hierarchical, culturally-responsive intervention for this population.