Supervised Visitation in the Context of Intimate Partner Abuse and Mental Health and Substance Use Series
A two part series
Being abused by an intimate partner can have significant mental health and substance use effects. At the same time, abuse often targets a survivor’s mental health and substance use in deliberate attempts to control survivors and isolate them from sources of safety and support. These forms of abuse, known as mental health coercion and substance use coercion, not only jeopardize the well-being of survivors but also often seek to undermine parent-child attachment, creating increased risks for children.
This 2-part series, we:
Clarified the relationships between intimate partner abuse, mental health, and substance use, including coercion related to mental health and substance use
Applied equity-based and trauma-informed lenses to better understand mental health and substance use as threat responses
Tried out different tools to support reflective practice
Worked together to identify strategies to build emotional safety into the program environment, services, and relationships