Why is research on interventions for violence, abuse and mental health important?
Developing trauma-informed interventions and research are paramount to preventing and reducing violence, abuse and mental health problems. The needs and priorities of survivors must be centered at the heart of all support services in order to ensure they are accessible, effective and sensitive to the unique needs and circumstances of those who use them.
Developing trauma-informed interventions and research are paramount to preventing and reducing violence, abuse and mental health problems. The needs and priorities of survivors must be centered at the heart of all support services in order to ensure they are accessible, effective and sensitive to the unique needs and circumstances of those who use them.
|
|
Watch VAMHN Grantholder Dr Leonie Tanczer introduce the theme of interventions and give some more information about the VAMHN's work around this area. |
The challenges of developing interventions for violence, abuse and mental health
Although recent years have seen a rapid increase in intervention research, there remain significant gaps in understanding ‘what works’ to prevent and respond to violence and abuse. Further, there is often a mismatch between research and practice. Firstly, some policies and interventions are delivered without strong evidence of effectiveness. Secondly, research does not always address questions that are the most pressing for practice or reflect the priorities of people with lived experience. The implication of this is that we do not have clear indication of whether interventions are wanted, whether they are accessible, and how they are experienced, nor an understanding of benefits, harms and value for money.
Although recent years have seen a rapid increase in intervention research, there remain significant gaps in understanding ‘what works’ to prevent and respond to violence and abuse. Further, there is often a mismatch between research and practice. Firstly, some policies and interventions are delivered without strong evidence of effectiveness. Secondly, research does not always address questions that are the most pressing for practice or reflect the priorities of people with lived experience. The implication of this is that we do not have clear indication of whether interventions are wanted, whether they are accessible, and how they are experienced, nor an understanding of benefits, harms and value for money.
|
|
Watch Nicole Jacobs (Domestic Abuse Commissioner) talk more about the current challenges of interventions research and what we can do to improve the provision of support for survivors of violence, abuse and mental health issues. |
The VAMHN's Work on Interventions
In 2021 the VAMHN held it's third annual funding call on the theme of interventions. We received 23 high quality applications from across the UK, and we were pleased to award funding of up to £25k to four projects. You can read more about the findings of these projects below...
What must I seem like to you? How ‘victimhood’ is portrayed in educational advocacy interventions for female survivors of domestic violence and abuse
|
To find out more about the background and key findings of this project, you can watch the video below featuring project lead Melissa Jogie.
|
You can also click on the report below to read the executive summary of this project.
|
|
|
|
Dr Melissa Jogie, Lecturer in Education Studies at The University of Roehampton
Professor Cecilia A. Essau, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at The University of Roehampton
Professor Aisha K. Gill, Professor of Criminology at The University of Roehampton
Reflection and Training Day summary
- While an initial analysis was undertaken, it was decided by the project team to invest in a Reflection and Training Day, as a primary output, because the initial findings of the project were more beneficial if shared with the project partners, survivors, public services, and researchers. Bringing together a selected team of 22 participants comprised the body of our Reflection and Training Day and the initial project findings were shared to engage further insight into the next steps and commentary from what was found with the hope of engaging some future collaborations and investment in ongoing and continued partnership.
- Highlights and a summary of the Reflection and Training Day can be seen on the project webpage here.
Intervention components that have common impacts across parental domestic violence, mental ill-health, and substance misuse
|
To find out more about the background and key findings of this project, you can watch the video below featuring project lead Kate Allen.
|
You can also click on the report below to read the executive summary of this project.
|
|
|
|
Vashti Berry, Senior Research Fellow at The University of Exeter
Kate Allen, PhD student at The University of Exeter
G.J. Melendez-Torres, Professor of Clinical and Social Epidemiology at The University of Exeter
Chris Bonell, Professor of Public Health Sociology at The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Tamsin Ford, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at The University of Cambridge
Kate Allen is a Research Fellow working in the Children and Young People's Mental Health Research Collaboration at the University of Exeter. To find out more about her work click here.
Kate Allen, PhD student at The University of Exeter
G.J. Melendez-Torres, Professor of Clinical and Social Epidemiology at The University of Exeter
Chris Bonell, Professor of Public Health Sociology at The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Tamsin Ford, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at The University of Cambridge
Kate Allen is a Research Fellow working in the Children and Young People's Mental Health Research Collaboration at the University of Exeter. To find out more about her work click here.
Journal Publication: Family focused interventions that address parental domestic violence and abuse, mental ill-health, and substance misuse in combination: A systematic review
Project profile: NIHR Peninsula Applied Research Collaboration (PenARC)
- The linked systematic review component of this project was published in PLoS One in 2022.
- You can read the paper here.
Project profile: NIHR Peninsula Applied Research Collaboration (PenARC)
- The project was profiled by the NIHR Peninsula Applied Research Collaboration (PenARC) on their website.
- You can read the profile here.
How do autistic adults conceptualise and recover from intimate violence and abuse?
|
To find out more about the background and key findings of this project, you can watch the video below featuring project lead Amy Pearson.
|
You can also click on the report below to read the executive summary of this project.
|
Amy Pearson, Senior Lecturer at The University of Sunderland
Felicity Sedgewick, Lecturer in Psychology of Education at The University of Bristol
Monique Botha, Research Fellow at The University of Stirling
Kieran Rose, Author, Consultant, Trainer, Public Speaker, Researcher at KMR Training and Consultancy
Sarah Douglas
Amy Pearson is a Chartered Developmental Psychologist with expertise in the field of Autism/Neurodiversity. Her current research focuses on understanding factors that impact on wellbeing among autistic people across the lifespan. She is particularly interested in interpersonal relationships and victimisation, social identity and stigma, and increasing accessibility for neurodivergent people in higher education. She uses innovative, mixed methods (quantitative, qualitative, and arts-based) approaches to address research questions, and has a passion for co-design and participatory working. To find out more about Amy click here.
Felicity Sedgewick, Lecturer in Psychology of Education at The University of Bristol
Monique Botha, Research Fellow at The University of Stirling
Kieran Rose, Author, Consultant, Trainer, Public Speaker, Researcher at KMR Training and Consultancy
Sarah Douglas
Amy Pearson is a Chartered Developmental Psychologist with expertise in the field of Autism/Neurodiversity. Her current research focuses on understanding factors that impact on wellbeing among autistic people across the lifespan. She is particularly interested in interpersonal relationships and victimisation, social identity and stigma, and increasing accessibility for neurodivergent people in higher education. She uses innovative, mixed methods (quantitative, qualitative, and arts-based) approaches to address research questions, and has a passion for co-design and participatory working. To find out more about Amy click here.
Recommended reading
- Pearson, A., Rose, K., & Rees, J. (2023). ‘I felt like I deserved it because I was autistic’: Understanding the impact of interpersonal victimisation in the lives of autistic people. Autism, 27(2), 500-511.2.
- Gibbs, V., & Pellicano, E. (2023). ‘Maybe we just seem like easy targets’: A qualitative analysis of autistic adults’ experiences of interpersonal violence. Autism, 13623613221150375.
- Pearson, A., Rees, J., & Forster, S. (2022). “This Was Just How This Friendship Worked”: Experiences of Interpersonal Victimization Among Autistic Adults. Autism in adulthood, 4(2), 141-150.
- Gibbs, V., Hudson, J., Hwang, Y. I. J., Arnold, S., Trollor, J., & Pellicano, E. (2021). Experiences of physical and sexual violence as reported by autistic adults without intellectual disability: Rate, gender patterns and clinical correlates. Research in autism spectrum disorders, 89, 101866.
- Ridout, S. (2020). Establishing neurodivergent authorship in the sexual violence debate. The Neurodiversity Reader. Shoreham by Sea: Pavilion, 275-287
These images were drawn by autistic artist Lauren Osborne (@ArtworksEliz on twitter) to illustrate some of the key themes from our findings. The survivors who took part in our research outlined how violence in their world became normalised over time, and led to self-doubt and a need to mask their true selves and feelings to stay safe. Good support from friends, family and services helped them to start to recover from their experiences, but they acknowledged that this would be a lifelong process, with recovery not being an ‘end point’ but something ongoing’.
|
|
Support and interventions for parents with mental health needs and children identified as at risk of abuse: A systematic review and thematic synthesis of parent and practitioner experiences
|
To find out more about the background and key findings of this project, you can watch the video below featuring project leads Angela Sweeney and Billie Lever-Taylor.
|
You can also click on the report below to read the executive summary of this project.
|
|
|
|
Dr Angela Sweeney, Senior Lecturer in User Led Research at King’s College London
Dr Billie Lever Taylor, Clinical Psychologist at King’s College London
and the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
Georgia Bacon, University College London
Nadia Mantovani, St George's, University of London
Jacqueline Sin, Professor of Mental Health Nursing
Sarah Peter, Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
Claire Grant, University College London
Rachel Batchelor, University of Oxford
Supported by: Birth Companions - Birth Companions | Home
Dr Billie Lever Taylor, Clinical Psychologist at King’s College London
and the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
Georgia Bacon, University College London
Nadia Mantovani, St George's, University of London
Jacqueline Sin, Professor of Mental Health Nursing
Sarah Peter, Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
Claire Grant, University College London
Rachel Batchelor, University of Oxford
Supported by: Birth Companions - Birth Companions | Home
A Day in Family Court by Traumascapes
This artwork was created by Laura E. Fischer and Sullivan Holderbach of Traumascapes in partnership with a member of the Lived Experience Advisory Group of the 'At the Edge of Care' project. For more information visit traumascapes.org and https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/at-the-edge-of-care. To view the illustration in full you can download the PDF file below.
| |||
Illustration by: www.traumascapes.org