Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a common complex social and public health problem. Interventions for IPV male perpetrators are an essential component of an early and effective response. Yet little is known about how to engage men in interventions for help-seeking. Using the theory of planned behavior (TPB), we explored men's perceptions of seeking help for an unhealthy relationship and how they could be supported to recognize their behavior and undertake change at an early stage. We recruited 23 men who were currently attending a men's behavior change program in Australia to take part in focus groups. These were recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed. The TPB concepts of behavioral beliefs, perceived control, and subjective norms were found throughout the data. Behavioral beliefs covered four subthemes: self-awareness, self-reflection and agency, the influence of others to change, and needing the right message in the right place. Perceived control was connected to these men's understandings of what it means to be a man. Subjective norms were rarely raised, but there was some indication that men's perceptions of societal norms about men as violent influenced a perceived lack of agency to change behavior. Our findings highlight the complexity of, and challenges in, engaging men who may use violence before they reach crisis point and justice intervenes. Despite this, participating men could find acceptable an appropriately developed and easy-to-access intervention that enhances recognition of behaviors and provides links to supports. Health professionals or researchers developing early interventions targeting these men need to take the engagement challenges into account.

Domestic and family violence is a key area of concern for all professionals who work with families, with recent years seeing an expansion in the availability of intervention programs for men who perpetrate violence against women and children. This paper considers current approaches to the regulation of professional practice in this area, providing information about the changing context in which interventions are offered. The purpose of the paper is to encourage ongoing discussion about the setting of men's behaviour change program standards of practice in Australasia and to identify some key issues that require consideration.1 It is important that practitioners are familiar with current expectations and standards relating to work with those who are violent in their families. 2 This paper provides an overview of current work to develop standards for men's behaviour change programs in Australia and New Zealand. 3 These standards represent an attempt to improve the consistency and quality of practice in this area. 4 There is a need to carefully consider the evidence that exists to support the adoption of particular approaches to work with perpetrators. 5 There is value for family therapists to engage with the wider program sector to strengthen outcomes for families. Endnotes1 The initial search yielded 11,304 hits. After duplicates were removed (N = 1,120), titles and abstracts were screened and 269 studies were considered potentially relevant. Full-text articles were then accessed. Key words used in the initial search included variations of: domestic violence and abuse, intimate partner violence and abuse, spouse violence and abuse, batterer, and were cross-referenced with terms such as program, evaluation, treatment, intervention and therapy. 2 The term 'sector' is used here with caution. Community-based MBCPs do not (and, in our view, should not) represent their own 'sector' separate from other specialist DFV services, such as those for women and children. The term is used here for expediency purposes only. MBCP Standardsª 2018 Australian Association of Family Therapy