| Substance abuse and domestic violence are correlated issues and frequently co-occur (see, e.g., Chase, O'Farrell, Murphy, Fals-Stewart, & Murphy, 2003; Fals-Stewart & Kennedy, 2005; Stuart et al., 2006; Testa, Livingston, & Leonard, 2003). However, there is little interaction between domestic violence agencies and substance abuse treatment centers in communities across the United States (Collins & Spencer, 2002). Bland and Edmund (2008) recommended that one way for domestic violence advocates to provide support and services for those in substance abuse treatment and vice versa is to have advocates facilitate support groups regarding their area of expertise at the other agency.;In this project, I explored a domestic violence-based support group within a substance abuse treatment center. I facilitated the domestic violence support group within the substance abuse treatment center from April 2011 until October 2012; then, I observed another facilitator and the group from October 2012 until May 2013. I also conducted semistructured interviews with 20 of the group members in order to explore the helpful and unhelpful communication within the support group. The data were analyzed via an inductive and iterative process, and open and axial coding was used to identify major themes of helpful and unhelpful communication (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Miles & Huberman, 1994).;Overall, informational support was the type of social support that was most solicited, provided, and deemed most helpful by participants. Additionally, group members reported that the most helpful (and unhelpful) communication within the support group focused on recognizing and conceptualizing domestic violence, making sense of domestic violence experiences, and discussing ways to facilitate a safer future. Moreover, group members found it helpful to listen to others' stories and to share their own stories because elaborating on their thoughts and feelings helped them reappraise their situation in meaningful ways. These findings imply that domestic violence and substance abuse treatment centers can effectively bridge their services via support groups and that domestic violence support groups are most helpful when they: (a) are mostly peer-directed, (b) include an educational component, and (c) affirm the variety of group members' lived experiences. |
