Domestic Violence, Trauma, Advocacy, Legal Tools, Resources & Publications

 

 

Source: National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health

 

Resources & Publications

The National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health produces a variety of materials for domestic violence advocates, mental health and substance abuse providers, legal professionals, and policymakers. See below for descriptions of and links to our current publications and products.
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• DV, Trauma & Mental HealthThese readings are for anyone interested in learning more about domestic violence, trauma, and mental health. Recommended for everyone
• Fact Sheets for Domestic Violence Advocates  These fact sheets provide information and practical tips to domestic violence advocates on working with survivors who are experiencing trauma symptoms and/or mental health conditions. Recommended for domestic violence advocates
• Creating Trauma-Informed Services Tipsheet Series These tipsheets provide practical advice on creating trauma-informed services at domestic violence programs and working with survivors who are experiencing trauma symptoms and/or mental health conditions. Recommended for domestic violence advocates
• Safety and Well-Being Tipsheet Series These tipsheets provide information on the ways that experiencing abuse can affect how we think, feel, and respond to other people and the world around us. The series also provides tips on how to seek support for yourself and how to help if someone you know is being abused. Recommended for everyone

Law and Legal Advocacy Tipsheet Series These resources provide information and guidance to legal advocates and attorneys working with survivors who are involved in legal cases. Recommended for civil lawyers and legal advocates
Conversation Guide Series 

The Conversation Guide Series is designed to provide guidance to domestic violence programs working to build their own capacity to provide accessible, culturally relevant, and trauma-informed services. Each guide in the series will provide instructions on how to lead discussions and activities with program staff. The activities can be modified or adapted for your specific program’s needs. Recommended for domestic violence programs

Model Medication Policy 

The Model Medication Policy is designed to offer guidance to domestic violence programs on adopting medication policies that are accessible, trauma informed, and compliant with anti-discrimination laws. Recommended for domestic violence coalitions and programs

Subpoena Response Tool 

The Subpoena Response Tool provides guidance to mental health practitioners and agencies on how to respond to subpoenas and other demands to produce client mental health records in ways that will maximize client safety and autonomy. Recommended for mental health providers in private practice, mental health agencies, and domestic violence programs that are collaborating with mental health providers or agencies

Attorney’s Handbook 

The Attorney’s Handbook provides guidance to attorneys who are representing survivors of domestic violence who are experiencing trauma symptoms and/or mental health challenges. This project was supported by Grant No. 2008-TA-AX-K003 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. Recommended for attorneys

Responding to Domestic Violence: Tools and Forms for Mental Health Providers 

These materials provide tools and information for mental health providers on how to be responsive to domestic violence. These materials were adopted from DVMHPI-CDPH-MODV Pilot Project, previously approved by OVW for 2004 Disabilities Grant. Recommended for mental health providers in private practice, mental health agencies, and domestic violence programs that are collaborating with mental health providers or agencies

Creating Accessible, Culturally Relevant, Domestic Violence- and Trauma-Informed Agencies: A Self-Reflection Tool (ACDVTI Agency Self-Reflection Tool)

This tool is designed to guide agencies through a self-reflective process on what it might look like to be doing accessible, culturally relevant, and trauma informed (ACDVTI) work in seven different key areas, and to identify strategies for getting there. This tool was developed by the Accessing Safety and Recovery Initiative (ASRI), OVW Ending Violence Against and Abuse of Women with Disabilities Grant 2007-FW-AX-K004, which involved building collaboration among domestic violence programs, community mental health agencies, and state psychiatric hospitals.

Recommended for domestic violence programs, community mental health agencies, and psychiatric hospitals

Articles
On this page, you will find citations to relevant publications by Center staff and others.
Real Tools: Responding to Multi-Abuse Trauma — A Tool Kit to Help Advocates and Community Partners Better Serve People With Multiple Issues
The “Real Tools” products provide a support group manual and training tools for advocates and other professionals working with women who have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, substance abuse and other trauma.
Access to Advocacy: Serving Women with Psychiatric Disabilities in Domestic Violence Settings — Participant Guide
Originally published in 2007, the Center’s Access to Advocacy curriculum was the first document to pull together training materials from the Center and several of its partner agencies on multiple different topics and present a comprehensive overview of our framework for and approach to bridging clinical, advocacy, and survivor perspectives. Although this content has been updated in our more recent trainings, the Access to Advocacy curriculum continues to serve as a foundational resource.
Domestic Violence Coalitions’ Needs Assessment Survey Report
In 2012, the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health, in collaboration with the National Network to End Domestic Violence, conducted a nationwide needs assessment of state, territory, and District of Columbia domestic violence coalitions to identify training and TA priorities, as well as to gather information on trauma-informed work being done at the coalition and program levels.  The Domestic Violence Coalitions’ Needs Assessment Survey Report summarizes the results of this survey, describing state-level collaborations and policy work, the availability of culturally specific services, barriers and challenges faced, supports coalitions provide to member programs, and the impact of training and TA on coalitions and programs.  This survey was conducted as part of a multi-year effort by NCDVTMH to provide support to coalitions as they work to assist their member programs in developing accessible, trauma-informed, culturally relevant domestic violence services and organizations.
NCDVTMH Review of Trauma-Specific Treatment in the Context of DV
While there are numerous interventions designed to reduce trauma-related mental health symptoms, most were originally developed to address events that have occurred in the past. Many domestic violence survivors are still under threat of ongoing abuse or stalking, which not only directly impacts their physical and psychological safety but impacts treatment options as well. Little has been known about the extent to which existing evidence-based trauma treatment modalities are applicable to, or require modification for, IPV survivors.
In order to address these concerns, the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health, in collaboration with Cris Sullivan, PhD, and Echo Rivera, MA, at Michigan State University, conducted a formal literature review of evidence-based trauma treatments for survivors of domestic violence. The paper, A Systematic Review of Trauma-Focused Interventions for Domestic Violence Survivors, provides an analysis of nine trauma-based treatments specifically designed or modified for survivors of DV, along with caveats and recommendations for research and practice going forward.
The paper is part of a multi-year effort by NCDVTMH to partner with researchers, clinicians, and the DV field to build an evidence base for both trauma-informed work and trauma-specific treatment in the context of domestic violence.

Featured Resources &Publications

• NCDVTMH Review of Trauma-Specific Treatment in the Context of Domestic Violence
  March 2013

While there are numerous interventions designed to reduce trauma-related mental health symptoms, most were originally developed to address events that have occurred in the past. Many domestic violence survivors are still under threat of ongoing abuse or stalking, which not only directly impacts their physical and psychological safety but impacts treatment options as well. Little has been known about the extent to which existing evidence-based trauma treatment modalities are applicable to, or require modification for, IPV survivors. In order to address these concerns, NCDVTMH, in collaboration with Cris Sullivan, PhD, and Echo Rivera, MA, at Michigan State University, conducted a formal literature review of nine evidence-based trauma treatments for survivors of domestic violence.

• Impact of Trauma on Interaction and Engagement: Information Sheet for Domestic Violence Advocates
  December 2011

What are some of the ways it might look when someone is experiencing a trauma response? What are some of the ways that we can connect with a survivor who is experiencing psychological trauma? This brief information sheet is designed to help domestic violence advocates start to think about these questions in their work with survivors.