The Women, Co-Occurring Disorders and Violence Study

Violence in the lives of women impacts their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. The inter-relationship between violence, mental health, and substance abuse is profound. Despite this, current services and service systems largely fail to identify or meet the needs of women affected by trauma, mental health, and substance abuse.

The Women, Co-Occurring Disorders and Violence Study was launched in 1998 to generate knowledge about developing comprehensive, integrated service approaches, and the effectiveness of these approaches for women with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders who had histories of trauma. This ground-breaking effort was the first of its kind to focus on the primacy of trauma in women's lives.

Over the course of five years, the project generated substantial findings about how to create and adapt services and systems of care to be more responsive to the needs of women who have experienced trauma. The National Center, in partnership with Policy Research Associates and the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, provided technical assistance to the program sites, conducted cross-site process and outcome evaluations, and developed a range of application products from the study sites. The study was funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA).