Response-based practice (which subsumes response-based therapy) is a specialized model for working with individuals and groups experiencing adversity, including violence and injustice. It is a conceptual framework for research, critical analysis, and policy and consists of methods that are readily adapted across settings (e.g., in child protection, group therapy, victim assistance, refuges and transition houses, policing, family law, trauma treatment, prevention education, community development, and individual and group therapy with victims and offenders and their children).

The main tenets of the approach are supported by clinical, social science, and biological science research. Response-based practice grew from direct service with individuals and families in diverse social, cultural, and geographical locations and continues to evolve in collaboration with a wide range of professionals and activists.