Commentary: 25 Years After Johnson’s Typology of Intimate Partner Violence the Impact of Johnson’s Typology on Clinical Work

This commentary highlights the impact of Michael Johnson’s work, and the concept that intimate partner violence (IPV) is not a “one-size fits all” phenomena, on the mental health field. Johnson’s, 1995 typology led to a paradigm shift in research and the clinical work of many mental health providers who seek to prevent or treat IPV. Johnson’s idea that there is more than one type of violence, i.e., situational couple violence and intimate terrorism, moved many from the idea that it is never appropriate to offer conjoint treatment to couples who have experienced IPV. Instead, it became increasingly clear that clinicians have a responsibility to provide a clear determination of if there has been IPV in the couple we are treating, and if so, to determine the type of IPV to individualize treatment based on the IPV type. In this commentary, we also address the impact of Johnson’s work on our own clinical work and on the mental health field. Finally, as we review Johnson’s work and the work of other scholars in this special issue, we focus on how this can guide clinical work to improve the lives of clients who have experienced IPV (either as victims, offenders, or both).