Intervention
For some teens, prevention efforts might not have reached them soon enough to avoid experiencing an unhealthy relationship, but that doesn’t mean it's too late for them to benefit from this knowledge and the accompanying resources. Teens can experience TDV at various levels ranging from unhealthy to abusive (as seen in the relationship spectrum by Love is Respect). Below, you will find tips and resources for TDV interventions. There is guidance for using resources to provide psychoeducation as well as guidance on using a safety plan with teens who are experiencing riskier forms of TDV or abuse. Additionally, there is guidance for using SENSA to provide interventions and resources to pregnant and parenting teens experiencing TDV.
Advice for TDV Interventions
A school social worker's perspective on how to approach TDV interventions
Using resources for intervention
Safety planning is essential for situations where relationship abuse is suspected or confirmed. While it is crucial that you follow your school and district's protocol for reporting relationship abuse or sexual assault, it is also important to safety plan as part of your ongoing support for the youth. You can use the link above to create a safety plan with the teen using the National Domestic Violence Hotline online template. This template can help you provide the teen with a detailed and customized safety plan that you can print out. The teen should retain a copy of this safety plan (ideally a copy small enough to keep on them at all times) and you should retain a copy as well to be updated periodically as needed.
Psychoeducation is one of the most important parts of intervention. Teens need to know what constitutes a healthy relationship in comparison to an unhealthy or abusive one. They need to know what qualities are important for a healthy relationship and what behaviors they should never endure (or perpetrate). The resource toolkit has resources to provide information to teens, including a document that details 10 characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships, and a document that details what these characteristics might present like in an LGBTQ relationship. You can use these resources to help teens identify the characteristics of their own relationship and identify which are healthy and which are not.
We know that pregnant adults face a higher likelihood of experiencing intimate partner violence. While there is no related data for pregnant teens, we can assume they face a similar risk. I have created the SENSA model for school social workers to provide support to pregnant and parenting teens, with a specific focus on preventing and intervening with teen dating violence while providing for resources and needs that the teen may have related to their pregnancy. This model has been designed to provide you with the resources necessary to support a pregnant teen, even if you may not know much about pregnant or birthing. The guide linked above will provide you with all of the information and resources needed to use the SENSA model.
Click below to access these and additional resources in the resource toolkit
When we love
we can let our hearts speak
~bell hooks
All About Love
You can find the resources described on this page and more in the resource toolkit linked above. In the toolkit you can find a self care plan template to help teens prioritize their wellbeing while in a relationship. You can also find information and links for leading organizations in TDV prevention and intervention. Break the Cycle, Love is Respect, One Love, The Trevor Project, and Day One all offer a host of information and resources on TDV prevention and intervention. Some of these organizations offer 24/7 outreach lines and curriculum for workshops. You can find more information in the resource toolkit linked above.
Now that you have an understanding of teen dating violence interventions, click the link below to learn more about interventions for teen dating violence with pregnant and parenting teens