This study aimed to identify key factors influencing the effectiveness of intervention programs for domestic violence perpetrators and to explore directions for improving related institutional frameworks. In-depth interviews were conducted with six intervention counselors, and the data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. A total of 22 subordinate themes were derived and organized into five overarching themes. Perpetrators’ attitudes reflected a dynamic interplay between motivation for change and self-justification, including power-oriented beliefs, addiction issues, and externalization of responsibility. Effective counseling practices involved establishing therapeutic alliances, fostering hope, promoting behavioral and linguistic change, and interrupting intergenerational patterns of violence. Counselors’ competencies included patience, a collaborative stance, acceptance of resistance, and relinquishing “savior” expectations. A relational perspective emphasized the family as a unit of intervention. Institutional tensions highlighted the need for client-centered, multi-layered approaches, improvements in program quality, adaptation to evolving contexts of violence, and integration of judicial and therapeutic systems. Implications and limitations are discussed.
