Achieving Change Through Value-Based Behavior

Achieving Change Through Values-Based Behavior (ACTV), Third Edition (ACTV-3), is a 24-week therapeutic group intervention program adapted from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy that is designed to reduce recidivism among domestic violence offenders and promote victim safety. The ACTV-3 curriculum equips group facilitators with structured didactic and experiential strategies that help participants develop intrinsic motivation for change, increase accountability, and build healthier relationships with themselves and others. Grounded in evidence-informed practice, ACTV-3 focuses on the processes that sustain harmful behavior and supports meaningful, lasting behavior change. Our long-term vision is to establish ACTV as the nation’s leading evidence-based partner abuse intervention program and to support its implementation nationwide.

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) provides the theoretical foundation for our domestic violence intervention program, Achieving Change Through Values-Based Behavior (ACTV). This approach centers on fostering psychological flexibility through cognitive defusion, acceptance, and experiential learning. Through ACT-based work, participants learn to shift the function of their thoughts, build tolerance for emotional distress, and make choices guided by their values rather than reactive patterns of behavior.

  • ACTV is an adaptation of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy designed specifically to reduce intimate partner violence among men with a history of these offenses. The intervention emphasizes experiential acceptance, cognitive defusion, and values clarification as core processes for creating sustainable behavior change. Rather than focusing on predicting violent behavior or analyzing its origins, ACTV targets the underlying processes that allow intimate partner violence to continue by helping participants change how they relate to their thoughts, emotions, and experiences.

  • ACTV addresses a broad range of relational, emotional, and contextual factors that contribute to aggressive behavior, ensuring a comprehensive approach to disrupting cycles of violence. The intervention supports participants in building tolerance for uncomfortable emotional experiences, increasing cognitive flexibility and emotional regulation skills, and learning to detach the content of their thoughts to the function of their behaviors.

    ACTV group facilitators take a non-confrontational, collaborative approach, engaging participants from an equal, compassionate, and authentic stance. Facilitators partner with group members to increase awareness of the factors influencing their behavior and to develop new, effective responses that align with their personal values and support healthier relationships.

Domestic violence is a profound public health crisis that inflicts lasting physical, psychological, and social harm on survivors. Its effects not only have devastating effects on individuals and impacted families, but strain healthcare systems, workplaces, and communities, ultimately costing the United States billions of dollars each year in medical care, lost productivity, legal involvement, and long-term support services.

Our evidence-based partner abuse intervention program can change that.

  • Domestic violence is a pervasive public health issue with far-reaching consequences for individuals, families, and communities. Those within the reach of domestic violence have been seen to be at higher risk for chronic health conditions and mental health disorders. Economically and socially, current domestic violence rates in the United States play a significant role in healthcare utilization and individual/community involvement in the legal and social services system. Addressing domestic violence requires not only crisis response and victim services, but also effective interventions for individuals who use violence, in order to prevent recurrence/recidivism and reduce harm at the population level.

    ACTV represents a contribution to prevention by functioning as a tertiary prevention intervention – as in, one that aims to reduce repeat violence among groups already involved in the justice system. ACTV addresses key risk factors for repeated violence, and by doing so, the intervention supports safer relationships, reduces strain on health and legal systems, and contributes to broader community-level safety. ACTV is a scalable violence prevention strategy with implications for long-term societal benefits that are affected by the current rates of intimate partner violence.

We are grateful for the support of our sponsors:

  • Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice

    (2014-WA-AX-0012, 2020-SI-AX-0009)

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

    (R49 CE002108)

  • National Institute of Mental Health

    (F31 MH090635)

  • Michael Reese Health Trust

Testimonials

  • "[R]esults were considered so promising that the Iowa Department of Corrections decided to transition all its batterer intervention classes to ACTV, and the program is getting national attention. In fact, Vermont has begun piloting it too."

    NPR Illinois 91.9 UIS

  • "“We are reducing outcomes anywhere from one-third to one-half compared to the standard,” said Lawrence, who is currently running another trial of ACTV in Minnesota, funded by the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women."

    The American Psychological Association

  • "[T]he U.S. will be one step closer to having its first empirically supported, court-mandated BIP that truly reduces recidivism in a criminal justice setting and protects victims from abuse."

    The Family Institute at Northwestern University

  • "[P]articipants in ACTV had half the recidivism rates for domestic assault and two-thirds less violent charges than those who participated in treatment as usual."

    Association of Domestic Violence Providers

  • “The group has taught me how to put thought before action. In many cases, I used to just snap out, and now in every situation, I have found myself putting my values to thought before acting on impulse...”

    ACTV-2 Group Participant

  • “I like the way the ACTV lessons help clients slow down and increase their self awareness skills and then use what they have learned and to practice in their everyday lives.”

    ACTV-2 Group Facilitator

  • “I use almost all of what I learned in the group because I realized how life-changing it can be. Understanding or not understanding these things can impact you and the people around you.”

    ACTV-2 Group Participant

  • “The group impacted me in every way possible when it comes to my anger. It has taught me that the angry part isn't the problem; it's how I react to the anger that makes the difference.”

    ACTV- Group Participant

Contact Us

Thank you for your interest in the ACTV project. We are available to answer any questions you have about the program or collaborators. If you have any feedback, leave it in this form here.

The Family Institute

The Family Institute at Northwestern University - Headquarters
618 Library Place
Evanston, IL 60201

Phone: 312-869-6043
Email: contactactv2@gmail.com