Substance abuse interface with intimate partner violence: what treatment programs need to know

Area of Science:

• Addiction Medicine
• Public Health
• Domestic Violence Research

Background:

• Substance abuse (SA) treatment agencies and providers require enhanced skills to address intimate partner violence (IPV).
• Integrating domestic violence services into SA treatment is crucial for comprehensive patient care.
• Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) 25 offers a framework for this integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide skill development suggestions for SA treatment providers implementing TIP 25.
• To outline methods for detecting, screening, intervening, and referring IPV victims and perpetrators in SA treatment.
• To review evidence-based interventions and assessment tools for domestic violence within SA treatment.

Main Methods:

• Review of methods for detecting, screening, intervening, and referring IPV.
• Presentation of evidence-based brief interventions.
• Discussion of tools such as a 2-minute domestic violence screen, danger assessment for lethality, and Conflict Tactics Scales 2.
• Survey of interventions for trust-building, safety planning, SA treatment compliance, and community resource development.

Main Results:

• Guidelines for safety planning and compliance strategies for SA treatment are presented.
• Interventions focused on establishing trust and brief interventions based on best practices are detailed.
• Community resource development strategies are outlined to support integrated care.

Conclusions:

• Skill development is essential for SA providers to effectively implement domestic violence protocols.
• Comprehensive strategies including screening, intervention, safety planning, and community collaboration are necessary.
• Integrating SA and domestic violence services improves outcomes for affected individuals.