Traumatic brain injuries often go untreated in situations of domestic violence.
Recent research focusing on the experience of survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) reveals astounding numbers of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) that go unseen and untreated. Like the harm caused by psychological and emotional abuse that’s often undetected, the symptoms of a TBI are also hard to recognize unless you know what to look for.
Often, treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the primary course for domestic violence (DV) survivors; unfortunately, this may do little to help in the long run when a concurrent TBI has not been diagnosed. Recognizing symptoms of TBI in survivors of IPV and advocating for treatment in addition to trauma recovery are critical to the well-being of the survivor.
Frequency of Traumatic Brain Injuries of IPV Survivors
Eve Valera, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard University and a leading researcher on TBIs among IPV survivors, hypothesizes that this population experiences TBIs at a significantly higher rate than other high-risk groups like athletes or soldiers. Valera estimates that each year hundreds of concussions occur in the NFL and thousands occur in the military; by comparison, she estimates that 1.6 million occur among DV survivors.
A TBI is a concussion that can result from being hit in the head with a hard object, such as a fist, or having one’s head hit against a hard object, such as the floor or wall. When confusion, memory loss around the event, and dizziness occur, there may be a TBI. Loss of consciousness can sometimes occur, but it does not happen in the majority of mild TBIs. During their time in an abusive home, survivors of IPV can experience concussions frequently.
