DVMHPI To Open National Center

The Domestic Violence & Mental Health Policy Initiative (DVMHPI) is pleased to announce the creation of a National Training and Technical Assistance Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma and Mental Health (NTTAC), funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families. The new Center will provide the resources, tools and consensus building opportunities necessary to fill the critical gap in services for survivors with unmet mental health and advocacy needs, to develop more comprehensive and culturally-relevant responses to the range of trauma-related issues faced by domestic violence survivors and their children, and to develop strategies for addressing both the social and psychological conditions that perpetuate abuse and violence across generations.

Our goal is to provide the infrastructure and resources to enable domestic violence and mental health agencies and training programs nationwide to be able to work more effectively with individuals who are dealing with both domestic violence and mental health issues. For additional information, please see Current Projects

The Domestic Violence and Mental Health Policy Initiative
The Domestic Violence and Mental Health Policy Initiative (DVMHPI) is an innovative Chicago-based project designed to address the unmet mental health needs of domestic violence survivors and their children. Since its inception in 1999, DVMHPI has engaged over 75 domestic violence, mental health, substance abuse and social service agencies in the Chicago area, as well as City and State policymakers, as part of a collaborative effort to build the capacity of local service systems to provide culturally relevant, trauma-informed services that address the mental health impact of domestic violence and lifetime abuse. DVMHPI also seeks to establish baseline standards of care within the publicly funded mental health system for working with adults and children experiencing ongoing domestic violence and to build a public mental health agenda that promotes both early intervention to ameliorate the impact of trauma as well as the prevention of abuse and interpersonal violence in future generations. DVMHPI’s training, consultation and networking initiatives have been successful in creating awareness among service providers, offering information and technical assistance to local agencies, and providing high quality training and support to advocates and mental health providers. Additionally, DVMHPI provides up-to-date resources on policy, research and practice to a range of providers and policy makers throughout the country and has been a vehicle for raising awareness, both locally and nationally about the importance of addressing trauma and mental health in ways that do not jeopardize survivors’ safety, custody or credibility.


Resources: About Domestic Violence and Mental Health provides information on the intersection of domestic violence, trauma and mental health. Check out the Resource Center to learn What's New in trauma, domestic violence and mental health information. You can also read our quarterly Newsletter, and download Publications. And, if you are a victim of domestic violence and are looking for help, you will find information at For Survivors. If you are in immediate danger, consider calling 911, or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 (800-787-3224 TTY).

Local partners: See Meetings and Trainings links to get updates on dates, times and locations of our ongoing regional meetings, working groups, and intensive trauma trainings. Interested in becoming involved with these activities? You can read about our Current Projects and contact us for more information.

If you experience any problems with this website, please contact site administrator.