“When domestic violence occurs, people are often injured by repeated blows to the head,” says Ann Tarpy, Project Manager for the Arizona Governor’s Council on Spinal and Head Injury. “Sometimes they seek medical treatment and sometimes they don’t. The result is that many battered women with undiagnosed head traumas wind up in shelters or in counseling programs.”

Yet many professionals are unaware of the connections between domestic violence and traumatic brain injury, Tarpy believes. And many have little understanding of the far-reaching consequences of even a mild brain injury on a domestic violence victim’s behavior, decision-making processes, and ability to follow through on plans.

“Family members, friends, and professionals who come in contact with a domestic violence victim should be aware of the risk of TBI and the life-altering effects it has on people,” says Tarpy.

To boost professional awareness of these connections, the Council is working to reach shelter staff, psychologists, and doctors working in the field. Tarpy, along with Dr. Sue Wolf, has presented training seminars throughout Arizona. Most recently they presented at the Mojave County Mental Health Clinic. "There has been a heightened request for TBI training this year,” says Tarpy.

To make the domestic violence-TBI connection, the Council has also been teaming with mental health professionals like Jewell Schildhauer of Dovetree Counseling Associates in Safford, Arizona.

Schildhauer has seen the adverse effects of undiagnosed TBI in her practice and is a strong advocate for educating the professional community. When doctors are unaware of the effects of TBI, she believes, they are more likely to diagnose people with TBI as suffering from mental disorders. They may also overlook the needs of their batterers, who often have TBI themselves.

“The traditional medical model is to treat people with medication,” says Schildhauer. “But we need to look further and begin to stop the endless chain of batterers passing their own TBI onto family members. Simply medicating people with TBI won’t solve the problem.”

Schildhauer points out the growing severity of the situation. “Over 97% of jailed batterers have a history of TBI, and 90% of preschool domestic abuse cases result in TBI to the child,” says Schildhauer. “I’ve found an unending cycle between battering and TBI in my practice. We need to rearrange the mental health field to acknowledge these deeper findings.”

Tarpy echoes Schildhauer’s sentiments.“If we change one life, we’re making a difference – for that individual, for the family, and for the professionals who work with them,” says Tarpy. “Women with undiagnosed head traumas wind up in shelters, unable to follow through on plans, written off as lazy and noncompliant. We'd like to continue to spread the word about the correlation between TBI and domestic violence, so these cases are no longer misdiagnosed.”

For more information on the correlation between domestic violence and TBI, please contact Ann Tarpy at the Arizona Governor's Council on Spinal and Head Injuries.