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About the Authors

Debi Sue Edmund, M.A., L.P.C.

Debi Sue Edmund, M.A., L.P.C., is a licensed professional counselor based in Springfield, IL. As a certified alcohol and drug counselor and a trained domestic violence advocate, Debi has several years of experience working with clients presenting with both substance abuse and interpersonal violence issues. She has worked in drug and alcohol treatment programs in Springfield and Decatur, IL, a domestic violence shelter in Springfield, and a transitional living program in Springfield for survivors of sex work.

Debi also serves on the board of directors for Project Return, a program whose goal is to help incarcerated mothers make a successful transition from prison to a new life in the community. She was a member of the Domestic Violence/Substance Abuse Interdisciplinary Task Force of the Illinois Department of Human Services from 1999-2004. She was editor of Safety and Sobriety: Best Practices in Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse, a manual produced by the task force and published by the Illinois Department of Human Services in 2000.

Patti Bland, M.A., CCDC CDP

Patti Bland, M.A., CCDC CDP, is director of the Train the Trainer Project for the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault in Juneau. Patti served both as an advocate and lead chemical dependency counselor at the New Beginnings for Battered Women and their Children shelter and community-based program in Seattle for eleven years. She developed the Domestic Violence/ Chemical Dependency Outreach Project for King County at the Alcohol Drug Help Line in 1994.

Patti served as the Domestic Violence Trainer for Providence Health System Family Violence Program for five years, as an Adjunct Professor at Antioch University (teaching graduate course work in psychology) as well as undergraduate course work at Seattle Central Community College. Patti also was an instructor for Child Protective Services at CPS Academy in Seattle, WA. She has published several articles on chemical dependency and domestic violence and completed development of domestic violence curricula for the Washington State Medical Association and the Perinatal Partnership Against Domestic Violence. Patti is the author of the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Curriculum for Advocates.