Behavioral Health (Mental Health and Substance Use)

Working at the intersection of behavioral health and gender-based violence to create a network of more trauma-informed and holistic services; increasing capacity and expanding concepts of survivor wellness.

Illustration of four figures with smiles in confident poses.

What We Do

Through training, consultation, and opportunities for collaboration, we ensure that survivors of gender-based violence have access to well-informed behavioral health focused services and systems, and agencies are able to create trauma-informed organizational cultures that support and maintain both employee and participant wellness.

The Gender-Based Violence/Behavioral Health Training and Collaboration Manager provides support across systems to increase the capacity of service providers working with survivors of gender based violence.

The Intersections of Domestic Violence and Mental Health

Created in 2009 and funded by the (King County) Mental Illness and Drug Dependency Plan (MIDD), our behavioral health program area focuses on fostering trauma-informed and survivor-centered solutions for addressing the systems and services gaps facing the significant number of survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and trafficking with behavioral health concerns.

Survivors often experience ongoing trauma, which can prolong and exacerbate their behavioral health concerns, increase their vulnerability, and compromise their safety.  Without identifying and appropriately responding to a survivor’s experiences of trauma and behavioral health, practitioners are not as able to address safety needs, connect survivors to appropriate resources, or to incorporate trauma and/or behavioral health in their work.    

Training and Technical Assistance

The GBV/Mental Health Training and Collaboration Manager can provide:

  • Interdisciplinary relationship building and collective learning opportunities
  • Training and education re: the intersection of behavioral health/gender based violence
  • Organizational/programmatic assessments and policy review in re: to behavioral health and gender-based violence
  • Mentorship connection for new staff and leadership at membership agencies re: behavioral health
  • Strategic coordinated community response development
  • Case staffing and consultation
  • Collective action opportunities for improving regional behavioral health related policy

Examples of Training Topics

  • Trauma-informed organizations and programs: best practices
  • Responding to secondary trauma
  • Cross-systems solutions for supporting the mental health and wellness of survivors
  • Survivor-Centered clinical safety planning
  • Reciprocal consultation development
  • Integrating therapeutic practices into advocacy
  • Traumatic brain injuries and gender based violence
  • Trauma and the body: chronic illness and somatic reactions
  • Trauma bonding and domestic violence
  • Supporting survivors of trafficking and exploitation
  • Supporting survivors with suicide ideation

Past and Current Projects

The Mental Health Collaboration Project

A multi-year multi-disciplinary collaboration between domestic violence, mental health , and family law providers in an effort to make services safer and more effective for domestic violence survivors with mental health concerns.

Behavioral Health Consult and Support Group

The Coalition convenes behavioral health service providers within membership organizations to connect and support each other through reciprocal consultation and collective problem solving.  

If interested in training or exploring potential projects, please reach out!

Email Nykki Canete nykki@endgv.org or schedule online.

Featured Tools & Resources

These resources are for gender-based violence service providers and those supporting survivors in adjacent systems who are interested in intersection of gender-based violence and behavioral health.

Reciprocal Consultation Guide

Request form and guide for Reciprocal Consultation Initiative between gender-based violence partner agencies.

When Protective Behaviors are Seen as Harmful

A toolkit from the Domestic Violence and Mental Health Collaboration Project. As a domestic violence advocate, you may have seen the harm that is done when domestic violence survivors’ protective […]

Related Upcoming Events

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Additional Resources