The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #71066

Colleen Clark, PhD¹, Julienne Giard, MSW¹, Arthur Cox, EdD², Margo Fleisher-Bond, LMHC³, Sharon Slavin³, and Marion Becker, RN, PhD⁴. (1) Florida Mental Health Institute / Mental Health Law & Policy, University of South Florida, 13301 Bruce B. Downs Blvd, MHC 2732, Tampa, FL 33612, 813-974-9022, cclark@fmhi.usf.edu, (2) Mid-Florida Center, Inc., P.O. Box 33, Avon Park, FL 33826, (3) Tri-County Human Services, 5421 US HIghway 98 South, Lakeland, FL 33846, (4) Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Department of Mental Health, Law & Policy, University of South Florida, 13301 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MHC 2735, Tampa, FL 33612-3899

The Triad Women’s Project is built upon the effective collaboration among Tri-County Human Services and other community providers, the women of District 14, and the University of South Florida’s Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute. In the first two years of the project, the needs, strengths, and diverse character of the women of this district and the system that serves them were comprehensively assessed. Case histories, eight focus groups in varied settings, an anthropological study of Haitian women, a retrospective review of charts, structured interviews and network analyses of provider administrators and line staff, careful documentation of all developmental meetings, women’s narratives of their treatment experiences, pre and post data on coping skills, mental health and trauma symptoms for women in Triad interventions, and Medicaid data were all used to complete this picture. This rich information was used to develop the Triad individual and service system interventions. Individual interventions, which include clinical case management, psychoeducational groups, peer-support groups, supportive transitional housing, and parenting skills training, are all based on a set of principles synthesized from the fields of mental health, substance abuse, trauma recovery and consumer/survivor peer support and advocacy. System collaborations, including an agreement among all behavioral healthcare agencies to use the same trauma-informed psychosocial assessment instrument, moved the district to greater integration of services. Consumer/survivor/recovering women of diverse backgrounds play key roles in all aspects of this project.

Learning Objectives:

• At the end of this presentation, the participant in this session will be able to:
• 1. Describe the steps in assessing the needs of women with histories of abuse and violence living in a semi-rural district of Florida
• 2. Identify strategies to develop, implement, and maintain integrated interventions to serve these women
• 3. Identify three specific interventions and their components for working with women who are survivors of abuse and violence, in recovery from substance abuse, and have psychiatric disorders

Keywords: Women's Health, Behavioral Research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.