Intimate Partner/Domestic Violence Intervention Training for Mental Health Professionals

If your employer is a compact member of the Harold Alfond Center for the Advancement of Maine’s Workforce, you may be eligible to take this program at a reduced cost. Visit our Harold Alfond Center Workforce Development Funding page for more information.

Program Description

This two-day program, presented in partnership with New Hope Midcoast, is designed for social workers, substance abuse counselors and other mental health professionals, as well as clergy, police officers and first responders to become certified in intimate partner violence training.

The following topics will be covered during the 12-contact hours of the program: foundations of domestic abuse, addressing the lasting impact of domestic abuse, intervention strategies of domestic abuse and trauma-informed and culturally competent responses to domestic abuse.

Program Benefits

This 12-hour curriculum was developed collaboratively by the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence and partners in the mental health field in order to meet the 2020 domestic violence training requirements for psychologists, licensed clinical social workers and licensed clinical professional counselors (see L.D. 1238. 126th Legis. 2013). The four three-hour modules include information that will help mental health professionals be prepared to work with people who have experienced and perpetrated domestic abuse and violence.

Topics Covered

Day 1

Module 1 – Domestic Abuse: Foundations

Participants will be able to:

Define domestic abuse and trauma
Examine the multitude of barriers to safety that batters create for their partners and family members
Identify the tactics that batterers employ to obtain and maintain power and control over their partners and family members

Module 2 – Domestic Abuse: Addressing the Lasting Impact

Participants will be able to:

Discuss the impact of trauma on the brain
Identify several short and long-term health impacts of domestic violence
Describe particular challenges facing survivors of multi-abuse trauma

Day 2

Module 3 – Domestic Abuse: Intervention Strategies

Participants will be able to:

Distinguish between appropriate roles for mental health providers and those for domestic violence advocates
Identify screening strategies to use in your practice
Describe the basic safety planning strategies, including how to refer to a domestic violence resource center
Define the difference between risk analysis and evidence-based risk assessment
Analyze batterer tactics of control as they relate to seeking professional help

Module 4 – Domestic Abuse: Trauma-Informed and Culturally Competent Responses

Participants will be able to:

Discuss trauma-informed strategies for working with survivors
List strategies for addressing secondary trauma that you may experience as a provide
Analyze the barriers and resources faith provides to both survivors and abusers
Describe various aspects of culturally competent services and list culturally-specific domestic violence resources in Maine

Who Should Enroll

Psychologists
Licensed clinical social workers
Licensed clinical professional counselors

Not sure if this program is right for you? Contact us at um.continuinged@maine.edu and we can help you figure it out.

This program and its content are relevant and beneficial to anyone working in the field with individuals to have better understanding of how to use proper language and skills to make them feel comfortable and relevant.