Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health problem that is commonly experienced by women and associated with psychosocial health issues. Recovering from IPV through Strengths and Empowerment (RISE) is a brief, clinician-administered, variable-length (1–6 sessions), modular, individualized psychosocial counseling intervention developed for women experiencing IPV. We present qualitative feedback and quantitative helpfulness ratings from women patients of the Veterans Health Administration who completed a randomized clinical trial (RCT) comparing RISE to a clinician-administered advocacy-based Enhanced Care as Usual (ECAU; a single structured session consisting of psychoeducation, safety-planning, resources, and referrals). Methods: 58 participants (Mage = 39.21) completed post-intervention semi-structured qualitative interviews, including helpfulness ratings, at two follow-up assessments (10- and 14-weeks post-enrollment) to assess the acceptability, usefulness, and perceived fit of the interventions for women’s needs. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a hybrid deductive-inductive analytic approach. Results: While both the RISE and ECAU interventions were deemed helpful (interventions were rated as ‘highly helpful’ by 77% of RISE and 52% of ECAU participants), differences were identified in perceived impacts of the intervention, application of content, approach to patient-centeredness, and implementation recommendations. Conclusions: Findings shed light on women Veterans’ experiences and preferences for IPV psychosocial counseling interventions. Such knowledge can inform evidence-based, trauma-informed, and individualized care for women Veterans who experience IPV and may have relevance to other populations of women who experience IPV.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a common concern among military Veterans that negatively impacts health. The United States’ Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has launched a national IPV Assistance Program (IPVAP) to provide comprehensive services to Veterans, their families and caregivers, and VHA employees who use or experience IPV. Grounded in a holistic, Veteran-centered psychosocial rehabilitation framework that guides all facets of the program, the IPVAP initiated the pilot implementation of a novel intervention called Recovering from IPV through Strengths and Empowerment (RISE). This evidence-based, person-centered, trauma-informed, and empowerment-oriented brief counseling intervention is designed to support those who experience IPV and to improve their psychosocial wellbeing. This program evaluation study describes clinical outcomes from patients who participated in a pilot implementation of RISE in routine care. We examined changes in general self-efficacy, depression, and valued living, as well as treatment satisfaction among patients who received RISE and completed program evaluation measures at VHA facilities during the pilot. Results from 45 patients (84% women) indicate that RISE was associated with significant pretreatment to posttreatment improvements in self-efficacy, depression, and valued living (Cohen’s d s of 0.97, 1.09, and 0.51, respectively). Patients reported high satisfaction with treatment. Though preliminary results were similar across gender and IPV types, findings from the evaluation of the pilot implementation of RISE demonstrate the intervention’s feasibility, acceptability, and clinical utility in routine VHA care and inform the scalability of RISE. Additionally, findings provide preliminary support for the effectiveness and acceptability of RISE with men. Modification to RISE and its implementation are discussed, which may be useful to other settings implementing IPV interventions.