Ending Interpersonal Violence

I am pleased to announce the publication of the book chapter I co-authored with Dr. Karen Rich on Trauma-Informed Systems of Care in the new resource Handbook of Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan. 

Rich K., Garza M.R. (2020) Trauma-Informed Systems of Care. In: Geffner R., White J.W., Hamberger L.K., Rosenbaum A., Vaughan-Eden V., Vieth V.I. (eds) Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62122-7_293-1

"Survivors of interpersonal trauma are vulnerable to risk of re-victimization when seeking help from community agencies such as welfare offices, substance abuse clinics, schools, homeless shelters, medical facilities and criminal justice agencies. Re-victimization of trauma survivors can lead to client dropout, “resistant” behavior, and treatment failure. It can also lead to stress, conflict, burnout, and frequent turnover among staff. Trauma-informed care is a community’s best approach to supporting survivors of interpersonal violence, but many agencies under-estimate its value or lack a comprehensive approach to its implementation. Budgetary concerns, resistance to change, turf issues, hierarchical power structures, lack of training, fears of trauma contagion and negative attitudes towards service recipients contribute to the problems. Interdisciplinary collaboration, investment in prevention, concern for employee wellness and top-down commitment are essential features of trauma-informed agencies. This chapter will present an overview of trauma-informed care, the benefits to clients and providers, obstacles to implementation of best practices, and research initiatives in the field."

This handbook is a project of The National Partnership for Ending Interpersonal Violence (NPEIV), an organization I have been a part of several years dedicated to ending interpersonal violence. The chapters in this handbook are comprehensive in covering the most up-to date research on various forms of interpersonal violence. Over 200 authors, clinicians, and researchers contributed to the handbook, with all proceeds benefitting NPEIV. 

​Introduction:  The Handbook of Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan is a comprehensive state-of-the-science reference work for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. It is written from a trauma-informed perspective, and utilizes adverse childhood experiences research as its basic developmental framework along with the traumatic effects all forms of interpersonal violence tend to produce. With public health and social justice in mind, this human-rights based handbook also focuses on the overlap and continuum of the various types of interpersonal violence. It integrates all forms of interpersonal violence while dealing with key issues of intersectionality and systems responses.


This two-volume handbook is published in collaboration with the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan, which aims to:

• Acknowledge and understand the impact interpersonal violence has on individuals and society
• Recognize the mental, physical, legal, social, and economic burden of interpersonal violence
• Respect an individual's basic right to live without violence; value human dignity
• Promote consensus-based practices while maintaining cultural sensitivity
• Consider and address the unique needs of vulnerable populations

I encourage anyone with an interest in ending interpersonal violence to make a pledge to NPEIV today at ​www.npeiv.org/donate-2