Recognizing battered wife syndrome

Battered wife syndrome is difficult to detect because the women usually do not volunteer the diagnosis. They often present with vague somatic complaints such as headache, lower back pain, abdominal pain, pelvic pain and dyspareunia. Four case histories demonstrate the difficulty in recognizing the cause of these complaints. The diagnosis was often missed because straight-forward, non-threatening, open-ended questions were not asked initially. The family physician's primary role is to identify the syndrome and initiate psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is centred on reversing "learned helplessness" and developing a new self-concept. This can be enhanced by an interval or transition house.