The current study is a randomized controlled trial comparing HOPE ( Helping to Overcome PTSD through Empowerment) to an adapted version of present-centered therapy (PCT+) in residents of domestic violence shelters with posttraumatic stress disorder from intimate partner violence. HOPE is a cognitive-behavioral treatment that adopts an empowerment approach. PCT is an attention-matched control condition frequently used in posttraumatic stress disorder treatment research. PCT+ was adapted to include safety planning. We collected data from 172 women from one of six shelters, randomizing participants to receive either HOPE or PCT+. Participants in both treatments received up to 16 sessions during shelter and the first 3 months post-shelter. Follow-up assessments occurred at post-shelter, post-treatment, and 6- and 12-months post-treatment. Results of multivariate models found that both HOPE and PCT+ were associated with significant and large reductions in intimate partner violence–related posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Further, both treatments resulted in significant small to medium effects on intimate partner violence, depression, empowerment, posttraumatic cognitions, and health-related quality of life. Results suggest that both HOPE and PCT+ are viable and efficacious treatments of intimate partner violence–related posttraumatic stress disorder in women residing in shelters. As PCT+ has the potential to be delivered by paraprofessionals and individuals without mental health expertise, PCT+ may be the preferred treatment model for shelters. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ’s website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/0361684320953120

There has been a long-standing debate regarding whether or not there is gender symmetry in intimate partner violence (IPV); however, shelter samples have been understudied thus far. This study investigates the prevalence and predictors of IPV perpetration in a sample of 227 women in battered women's shelters. Participants were asked to complete a number of measures assessing demographics, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV-TR) diagnoses, traumatic life events, and perpetration and victimization of IPV. Although the vast majority of women in this sample (93%) report perpetrating some form of IPV, few women endorsed violence that was not mutual (5.3%). Furthermore, for every type of IPV assessed, women were victimized significantly more than they perpetrated. Results also indicate that women's perpetration of IPV, and predictors of such perpetration, varied across type, severity, and measurement of violence. However, most IPV outcome variables were predicted by women's experience of victimization. Taken as a whole, these results support the assertion that context matters when examining the relative rates of perpetration as well as its predictors.

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Overall, CBT and CBT-mixed interventions have been found to be effective forms of treatment for PTSD with a diverse array of populations. CBT allows for the inclusion of a multicultural lens when evaluating and treating survivors of trauma and a unique flexibility for clinicians within manualized treatments. Therapists can seek training in CBT or CBT-mixed interventions in a number of ways, including continuing education workshops, conference workshops, and specialty organizations that offer online trainings (i.e., International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies).CBT is also easily adaptable to a variety of trauma-specific clients, including, as we saw with HOPE, IPV survivors. HOPE is an example of a program that

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a considerable public health problem that has garnered increased attention in the past several years. Prevalence rates of IPV in the United States are high, with upwards of one in three women and nine men experiencing IPV during their lifetime (Smith et al., 2018). The onset of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic brought statewide stay at home directives and nationwide recommendations for social distancing that aim to reduce infections but are also likely to inadvertently influence intimate partners and families in ways that increase rates and consequences of IPV. Indeed, previous research has shown that violence increases during and after disease outbreaks (Peterman et al., 2020), but little is written about reasons for the surges. Thus, this paper serves to discuss reasons for a rise in IPV experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and current and future opportunities for prevention and intervention.