bwjp/nrcdv...military experience, trauma, and intimate partner violence bwjp/nrcdv webinar series...
TRANSCRIPT
Military Experience, Trauma, and Intimate Partner Violence BWJP/NRCDV Webinar Series
November 10, 2010This project was supported by Grant No. 2005‐WT‐AX‐K055 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of
the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.
Military Experience, Trauma, and Intimate Partner Violence Webinar Series
Webinars:December 1, 2010: Justice‐Involved Veterans and Intimate Partner Violence – registration now open on the BWJP Website January 12,2011: Challenges Faced by Female VeteransFebruary 8 2011: Veterans and Domestic Violence: The Traumatic Impact on Women
Today’s PresentationMagnitude of the problemWounds of warIntimate partner violence (IPV)Combat‐related post‐traumatic stress disorder and IPV Implications
Victim safetyOffender accountability
Resources
Magnitude of the ProblemOver 2 million have served in Iraq and AfghanistanOver 5oo,000 National Guard and ReservesMultiple deploymentsIncreased OPTEMPO
Extended toursDecreased breaks
“Battlemind”= SurvivalDrawdownReunion and reintegration
Common Stress ReactionsSleep disturbanceBad dreams/nightmaresAnger/short temper Agitation, irritation, annoyanceJumpy and easily startledAvoiding people and placesIncreased drinking, smoking, drug useMistrustOver‐controlling or overprotective
Invisible/Signature WoundsTraumatic brain injury (TBI)
Estimated as many as 20% will experience a TBI (Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center)Estimated 320,000 experienced probable TBI (2008 Rand Corporation Study)Controversy
Post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)Estimated 300,000 have PTSD or major depression (Rand Study)
DiagnosisCo‐occurring disordersEstimated only 50% reported or sought help (Rand Study)
Warrior mentality and stigma
TBI A traumatically induced disruption of brain function/disturbance of consciousness, resulting in impairment of cognitive, emotional, and physical functioning
Cognitive: problems with memory and concentrationEmotional: anger, anxiety, poor impulse control, misinterpret communication of othersPhysical: headaches, fatigue, insomnia
Blasts leading cause of TBI in OIF/OEFAccount for 69% of TBI in current conflictsEffects of concussion from blast injury not always immediately apparent
Mental Health IssuesVA estimates 44% OIF/OEF veterans have psychological conditions 14% of those returning have serious mental health issues (PTSD or depression) (Walter Reed Army Institute of Research study)OIF/OEF veterans with major depression, receiving VA services, have a 9.1‐fold increased risk of suicide, compared to those w/o major depression Self medicating/substance abuse (associated with PTSD and TBI)
PTSDThe person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following have been present:
(1) the person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others (2) the person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror
PTSDVA estimates 15% of OIF/OEF veterans have PTSD
Of the 40% who have sought mental health care, 49.8% have PTSD problemsDifference between active duty and Guard and Reserves
Symptoms of PTSD:Re‐experiencingAvoidance and numbing Hypervigilance and increased arousal
PTSD is a treatable condition
Intimate Partner Violence When there has been physical and or sexual violence in an intimate relationship, the range of behaviors continually remind victims that violence is always a possibility:
IntimidationCoercion and threatsEmotional abuse, e.g., name calling, put downs, mind games, public embarrassmentUse of childrenEconomic coercionUsing minimization, denial, lying and blaming the victimStalking
IPV Most returning military do not become abusive Veterans with PTSD consistently found in research studies to have higher incidence of IPV perpetration than veterans without PTSDVeterans with PSTD report significantly higher rates of generally violent behaviors and aggression than veterans without PTSD Over one half (53.2%) OIF/OEF veterans presenting for care at a VA Deployment Health Clinic endorsed at least one act of physical aggression (IPV) in the past 4 months
Lethal IPV 2008 Surveillance of Violent Deaths Report, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control:
Majority of the violent deaths were secondary to IPV and relationship problems Two hundred of the incidents involved homicide followed by suicide 20% of all suicides were by former and current military personnelHomicide‐suicide accounts for 27‐32% of lethal IPV incidents in general population
Predominant risk markers include guns, patterns of estrangement and reunion, and offender’s poor mental health
• Intimate partner violence also called domestic violence •Post‐traumatic stress disorder •Traumatic brain injury •Substance abuse•Other mental health issues (depression)
Post‐Traumatic Stress DisorderCriteria B: Re‐experiencing
Intrusive distressing recollectionsDistressful dreams/nightmaresActing or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (flashbacks, illusions, hallucinations)Intense psychological distress @ exposure to internal or external cues (triggers)Physiological reactivity on exposure to cues
Post‐Traumatic Stress DisorderCriteria C: Avoidance
Efforts to avoid thoughts (etc.) of the event/sEfforts to avoid activities, places, reminders that arouse recollectionsInability to recall an important aspect of the traumaMarked diminished interest in activitiesFeeling detachment/estrangementRestricted range of affect (& love feelings)Sense of foreshortened future
Post‐Traumatic Stress DisorderCriteria D: Increased arousal
Sleep disturbanceIrritability or outbursts of angerDifficulty concentratingHypervigilanceExaggerated startle response
PTSD Symptoms & IPV Perpetration PTSD Symptoms
Traumatic EventRe‐experiencing that eventAvoidanceIncrease arousal
Social Isolation//Irritability//Hypervigilance/
IPV BehaviorsPhysical/sexual assaultCoercion and threatsEmotional abuseEconomic coercion
Use of IsolationIntimidation and threatsRighteous rageStalking & surveillance
The Relationships and PTSD Study: Detection of Intimate Partner
Violence (NRI‐04‐040)
Research Study Team:
Principle Investigator: April Gerlock PhD, ARNPProject Director: Jackie Grimesey, PhD; Study Team: Ofer Harel, PhD; Alisa Pisciotta, BA; Lynne Berthiaume, MN; Elaine Nevins, BA; Christina Cho, BA; Koriann Brousseau, BA; George Sayre, PsyD
This material is based upon work supported by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Research and Development, Nursing Research Initiative. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the VA.
First DeploymentWar/Conflict Zone
PTSD: AvoidanceSocial Isolation
“….well, I was trying to put her through school to get her master’s degree, and, but, basically, I was hiding. I didn’t want to have to be out in public. I didn’t want to have to relate with people. So, if you work the night shift, you don’t do those things….But, then, she would want me to make changes and I wasn’t in a place where I could make changes…It just got to a point where we—there was no room left…She wasn’t receiving any feelings or information or anything from me, which became just intolerable for her. (Veteran)
IPV: Use of Isolation“…I think the most I had was, like 107 missed calls in a row. And, he had, like this severe anxiety of me going anywhere, and it would always turn into an argument… And, I couldn’t even go to the grocery store by myself, and I mean, it got to the point where my friends no longer liked him. …all he did was call. If I turned off my phone, or put it on silent and didn’t answer, it turned into a huge fight when I got home. …It got to a point where I stopped going and seeing my friends. I stopped going out and being social….I knew there would be a fight waiting at home…”(Partner)
IPV: Intimidation and Threats“…Well, I have knives and‐ well, I had knives and weapons around the house, back in the day. And, I told her if she kept on doing, arguing and saying things that I didn’t appreciate or didn’t like, she would come up missing. And, that was—I told her I would take my weapon and kill her.” (Veteran)“He says, “I killed people in <country>. Now, what does that make you think? If you’re yelling at somebody and said, “I killed before.” (Partner)
IPV: Righteous Rage
“At its worse, something could be said that was not kind….it would escalate very quickly. …I’ll be frank: It would feel like, I never knew quite where it was going to go. His temper…I always knew that if he started laughing, then I was in trouble. For him, it was a way of trying to manage his rage. And, it never worked…(Partner)
IPV: Stalking/Threats to Kill“…he changed more than when he came from deploy. And, he always has a , like, a violent person. And, the other day he’s telling me, “if you leave me, or, or you cheat on me, or, somewhere, or something. I will find you. I will kill you. …I prefer to kill you and put you in pieces, and the spread, spread every where that you leave me… or, If you leave me, I, I’m going to kill somebody.” (Partner)
The Relationships and PTSD Study: Detection of Intimate Partner Violence (Phase 2)
First ≈ 278 couples◦ Yes IPV 125 (45%) No IPV 153 (55%)
Months in PTSD treatment:◦ Spans from 1 months to 432 months (36 years)
Age Range◦ 23 y.o. ‐ 83 y.o.
Served in war zone:◦ 97% Yes 3% No
Veteran Currently Violent in Intimate Relationship
Veteran Previously Violent in This Relationship
Veteran Violent in Previous Intimate Relationship
Police Response
General Violence in Community
Veteran’s Mutuality:Talked About War Zone Experiences
War Zone DeploymentsIPV & Relationship Breakups
Discussion
Difference in Treatment Approaches for PTSD & IPV
PTSD Treatment:Work with victims/survivors of traumatic experiencesGoal of PTSD treatment is to quiet the PTSD symptoms & facilitate re‐integration into the full range of social experiencesTherapist/s accept what is offered by the client at face value and approach with empathy and compassion
Difference in Treatment Approaches for PTSD & IPV
While the IPV perpetrator treatment therapist remains respectful they do NOT take what is offered at face valueIPV perpetrators misrepresent and lie about what has happened (re: their behaviors), misrepresent the victim (and the victim’s behaviors), and they alienate the victim from the therapists and treatment servicesIPV perpetrators may also be victims/survivors of trauma (e.g. childhood abuse, war trauma, etc.)
Both types of treatment are important, but very different
Difference in Treatment Approaches for PTSD & IPV
IPV perpetrator rehabilitation:Goal of treatment is to stop all forms of abusive and violent/assaultive behaviors towards intimate partners by holding the batterer (not the victim) responsible for the violence and abuse and accountable for stopping itCharacterizing behaviors of an IPV perpetrator are lying, minimizing the violence, and blaming the victim (thus, verification is needed through police reports, etc.)
Implications Victim Safety
Active duty, Reserve, National Guard, or veteran (jurisdiction, regulations, services/resources, confidentiality)Risk and danger assessmentProtection orders (civilian and/or military)Lautenberg Amendment: FirearmsCivil issues (e.g., divorce, custody, support)
Risk and Danger AssessmentRisk factors
Carries, has access to or threatens with a weaponPattern of estrangements, separations, and reunionsObsessive jealousyMental health issues
PTSDDepression Suicide threatsTBI
Daily impairment by alcohol or drugs
Implications Offender accountability
History and context of the violence: Batterer/non‐battererAssessment for IPVAssessment for co‐occurring disordersIntervention for IPV Treatment for co‐occurring disorders Monitoring and supervisionLautenberg Amendment: Firearms
Coordinated community response Department of Veterans Affairs
ResourcesDepartment of Veterans Affairs, National Center on Post‐traumatic Stress Disorder
Guide for family members of returning service members –very comprehensive and provides good resource information, however, little information about domestic violence
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/reintegration/returning‐war‐zone‐guide‐families.aspGuide for military personnel returning from the war – much of the same information as the family member guide but from a different perspective
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/reintegration/returning‐war‐zone‐guide‐sm.asp
Resources
Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health & Traumatic Brain Injuryhttp://www.dcoe.health.mil/
National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violencehttp://www.ncdsv.org/ncd_militaryresponse.html
ResourcesBWJP Website, Military Pagehttp://www.bwjp.org/military.aspxDocuments
Understanding the Military Response to Domestic Violence, Tools for Civilian AdvocatesCollaborating for Safety: Coordinating the Military and Civilian Response to Domestic Violence, Elements and Tools
BWJP PROJECT Funded by the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against WomenMilitary/civilian advocates network
Wiki Resource information and discussionVolunteer consultantsTraining
Blueprint for an effective community response to the co‐occurrence of combat‐related PTSD and IPV
Contact InformationGlenna Tinney
Military Advocacy Program CoordinatorBattered Women's Justice Project
703‐822‐[email protected]
Dr. April Gerlock253‐582‐8440, ext. [email protected]