A brief counselling intervention by health professionals utilising the 'readiness to change' concept for women experiencing intimate partner abuse: The weave project

This paper describes a brief counselling intervention based on the 'readiness to change' concept for women experiencing intimate partner violence, and an educational program for training primary care health professionals in the delivery of such an intervention. We present a synthesis of the literature on the Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour and the Psychosocial Readiness to Change Model as applied to intimate partner violence. We describe the intervention used in the weave trial, which draws on the educational and partner violence literature, as well as integrating key theoretical insights from the field of behaviour change. Practical steps for training health professionals are outlined from the authors' experience and research.