The Power and Control Wheel: A Domestic Violence Model

The Power and Control Wheel was created by the Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs (DAIP) in 1984 to help educate abusers and illustrate the experience of the people they harm.The Wheel explains how the abuser gains power and control over the person they’re abusing — and why it’s so challenging to leave these relationships behind.

“Prior to the Power and Control Wheel, intervention was really focused on the idea that if we can manage someone’s anger, we can manage domestic violence,” explains registered psychotherapist Natacha Duke, MA, RP.

“But the belief behind the Power and Control Wheel is that it takes more than anger management — that at the core of domestic violence, abusers have a sense of entitlement and a belief that they should be in control. The creators believed that educating the abusers and reaching this insight is needed for rehabilitation.” Link to full article here.