GUIDELINES FOR HANDLING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES IN COMMUNITY-MENTAL-HEALTH-CENTERS

Community mental health centers are becoming increasingly involved in the delivery services to victims and perpetrators of domestic violence . To help centers plan a domestic violence program and address the ris k of liability in treating clients who may be dangerous, the authors s uggest principles to guide clinical decisions, standards for service d elivery, and standards for staff development. Domestic violence is cle arly defined as criminal behavior. In treatment, cessation of violence takes priority over family reunification and resolution of issues bet ween victim and perpetrator. Decisions about accepting a perpetrator i n treatment should be made by the treatment provider, even if treatmen t is mandated by the court. Suggestions for reducing the burden of dom estic violence cases on individual clinicians include using treatment teams, establishing guidelines for maximum caseloads, and encouraging mixed caseloads. CMHCs have an important role in a comprehensive appro ach to domestic violence that includes a wide array of services and ca reful coordination among agencies that provide them.