Summary: Domestic Violence and Mental Health Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes PhD, LPC-MHSP Executive Director: AllCEUs Counselor Continuing Education Podcast Host: Counselor Toolbox, Addiction Counselor Exam Review & Happiness Isn’t Brain Surgery Objectives • Overview of the prevalence of IPV/DV • Overview of the mental health professional guidelines. • Assessment of those who batter: limits of confidentiality • Treatment Program approaches and goals • Partner contacts • Characteristics of those who batter • Characteristics of victims • Impact of DV on mental health • Treatment issues for victims • Impact of DV on children • What can help children • Buffers against DV Statistics • 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. https://ncadv.org/statistics • 19.3 million women and 5.1 million men in the United States have been stalked in their lifetime. • 63% of males as opposed to 15% of females had a deadly weapon used against them in a domestic violence incident. • In the year 2000, 440 men were killed by their intimate partner. Since then, 4% of male murder victims come from domestic violence incidents. Male Victims of DV • Men find it hard to see themselves as victims. They tend to feel that battering is associated with women and not men. • Men who are bisexual or gay may believe that they deserve the abuse because of their sexual orientation. • Male victims find it hard to seek help because • Help is mainly gender based • According to the National Coalition of Domestic Violence in 2003 and 2004 the state of Tennessee provided shelter to 11 men but was unable to find shelters for 192 men • They feel that they do not have the right to seek help because they have become part of the problem by defending themselves Where Do We Find Victims and Abusers? • Mandated treatment for batterers from the courts • Self referral for domestic violence counseling • In the context of therapy for other concerns (e.g., alcohol or other drug abuse, marital conflict, anger problems, depression, academic or conduct problems of children who witness domestic violence, etc.) • Over fifty percent of clients presenting alcohol or other drug problems also experience domestic violence. • Over fifty percent of those presenting for help with domestic violence also struggle with substance abuse. Important Note • Statistically, women are more likely to be killed by their partners when their partners threaten suicide than when their partners threaten homicide. However, confidentiality laws do not provide for the warning of battered women whose partners contemplate suicide. • Therefore, treatment programs may wish to specify an exception to confidentiality in the program contract for “all threats of harm to self and others.” Concurrent Addiction and DV Treatment • Some domestic violence programs require chemically-dependent batterers to participate in drug treatment programs concurrently. • Many of the treatment issues are the same (e.g., denial, minimization, projection of blame, etc.) • Batterers often blame their use of violence on psychoactive substances • Batterers often blame their partners for “forcing” them into treatment • Violence may become more frequent once the “batterer” is sober • Integrated treatment allows for an examination of the relationship between substance use and violence • Victims remain at higher risk of being abused while their partners go without DV treatment • Postponing DV treatment may imply that stopping the violence is not as important as some other issue such as substance abuse. What About Couples Counseling • Clinicians should question the appropriateness/safety of couples counseling if any of the following conditions exist: • Physical violence within the last several months • Either partner is afraid of the other • Either partner is afraid of reprisal for expressing feelings, needs, concerns, etc. • Either partner does not believe that the other can express feelings other
