Fostering Resiliency through Trauma and Substance Use Disorders: Annual Domestic Violence Conference

Deepa Patel

Certified Sex Offender Treatment Professional, Licensed Clinical Social Worker,
Co-Founder of Trauma and Hope

Ms. Patel is the Co-Founder of Trauma and Hope. Trauma and Hope is a forensic mental health and consultation agency that focuses on survivors of violence, human trafficking, gang prevention and intervention, and sex offender evaluations and treatment. Deepa is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a Certified Sex Offender Treatment Provider and EMDR Consultant/Practitioner. She is a dynamic clinician who has developed an expertise in treating non-voluntary clients. Deepa draws from a range of therapeutic approaches to support individuals and families. She specializes in developmental trauma, complex trauma, and mood disorders.  She uses trauma-focused modalities to support traumatized individuals and families. She has extensive experience providing local, state, and federal consultation and training services, having been in the forensic field since the early 2000’s, working in group/residential programs, courts, schools, and as a private practitioner.

Deepa has developed a proficient style of work with those managing complex trauma. Through her understanding and clinical devotion to her clients, she has widened her competency to develop  Intensive Outpatient and Inpatient Treatment Programs for survivors of sexual exploitation. This Certification offered by Trauma and Hope is SETTS, Sexual Exploitation Treatment and Training Services. SETTS provides a multidisciplinary clinical approach to screening, addressing,  treating, and working with victims of sexual exploitation, based on evidence-based clinical practices. Deepa is a private consultant for numerous government and private based organizations in the areas of trauma, human trafficking, and perpetrators.

Barbara Mardigian

Licensed Professional Counselor, Clinical Director,
Virginia Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program

Ms. Mardigian has worked in the field of addiction since 1997 after ceiving a master’s degree from the Medical College of Virginia in Rehabilitation Counseling, specializing in Drug and Alcohol Education. She became a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in 2004. She has worked in a variety of settings including Intensive Outpatient, Residential, private practice and with the first Health Professional Monitoring Program in Virginia as the Director of Intake Services. Prior to joining VJLAP she was the Executive Director of an Intensive Outpatient treatment facility in Richmond. She worked for the Farley Center from 2010-2016 as a lead clinician in their professional program, having experience collaborating with lawyers, physicians, CEOs, and high- ranking military. She has been with VJLAP since September 2019 as the Deputy Clinical Director, and effective November 1, 2022, as Clinical Director.

Amanda Sexton,

Pioneer Counseling Center, LLC, ASAC Board, and Healing in the Hills

Ms. Sexton is currently in private practice, where she works with diverse populations and a wide range of diagnoses. Amanda is passionate about helping individuals overcome challenges and achieve healthier, more fulfilling lives. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the field of substance abuse, with a special emphasis on trauma-informed care.

Lori Gates-Addison

 Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Prevention Specialist,
Director of Child/Family Services and Prevention, Cumberland Mountain Community Services

Ms. Gates-Addison has worked in the field 40 years. In 2010, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Substance Abuse Certification Alliance of Virginia for her work in prevention, and in 2015 she received the Trail Blazer Award for her work with Mountain Youth Drama at the Virginia Southwest 2020 Summit. Lori is an original founder of the ASAC coalition and directed the documentary film, The Prescription Drug Epidemic, A Coalitions Journey. Her advocacy role in promoting community collaboration led to an October 2018 and 2025 invitation to be a part of the Best Practices in Combating the Opioid Epidemic Leadership Conferences for the White House in Washington D.C. The desire that drives Lori’s heart is her vision to creatively foster collaboration, cooperation, and community coalitions to serve the people of Southwest Virginia.

Dr. Keith E. Fender, Ph.D.

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Sex Offender Treatment Professional,
Licensed Substance Abuse Treatment Practitioner

Dr. Fender received a BSW in 1993, an MSW in 1996, and a PhD in 2000.  He is a clinical member of The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA).  He has operated a batterer intervention program since 1996, and the program was certified in 2000.  He was the Chair of the Virginia Batterer Intervention Certification Board for many years, and he was a contributor to the development of the Virginia Certification Standards for Batterer Intervention programs (BIP) and Domestic Violence Intervention Programs (DVIP). He was named the Executive Secretary of the Board in 2013, and he continues to serve in that role.

He opened Blue Ridge Counseling in 1996 and has treated a wide range of psychiatric disorders including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, cognitive disorders, and sexual disorders.  He was responsible for geriatric mental health services in 7 nursing homes/assisted living facilities from 1998 until 2012.

His other specialty areas include forensic mental health, geriatric mental health, violence risk assessments, and batterer intervention treatment programs.  He has completed over 5,000 domestic violence risk assessments since 1996.  He is currently responsible for the operation of certified batterer intervention programs in Lynchburg, Roanoke, Staunton, and Radford.  He has served his local community as a member of numerous domestic violence fatality review teams as well as domestic violence task forces throughout southwest Virginia.  Our Health Magazine recognized Dr. Fender for “Best Bedside Manner” among health professionals in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. 

The Radford Counseling Group began operation in 2000 to specifically address forensic mental health needs in Southwest and Central Virginia.  The practice has office locations in Radford, Dublin, Roanoke, and Abingdon, Virginia. Sex offender treatment services are also provided throughout the state of Virginia from Accomac to Lee County and from Winchester to Danville. The Radford Counseling Group employs approximately thirty professionals who provide services throughout the state of Virginia.

Radford Counseling is currently contracted with the Virginia Department of Corrections and the United States Federal Probation and Parole Districts to provide various substance abuse counseling services, psychosexual evaluations/risk assessments, individual sex offender treatment, group sex offender treatment programs, sexual deviance testing, substance use disorder treatment, and batterer intervention programs.  Radford Counseling currently provides outpatient treatment to approximately 450 violent sexual offenders and to clients on probation with state and federal probation districts in the state of Virginia.  Radford Counseling also serves departments of social services statewide, providing psychosexual evaluations, psychological evaluations, domestic violence risk assessments, and parental capacity evaluations.

Dr. Fender has qualified as an expert witness in state and federal courts in Virginia and North Carolina and his services have been utilized in both the Appeals Court of Virginia and the Supreme Court of Virginia on topics related to domestic violence, sexual offending, parental capacity, and substance abuse.  Dr. Fender has served as an instructor at the Cardinal Police Academy’s Sex Crimes School, and he has assisted law enforcement officers at the local and state levels with cases that involved sexual violence, domestic violence, and domestic fatalities.  Dr. Fender has also collaborated with the Virginia State Police Sex Offender Investigative Unit, as well as the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force Team.  Dr. Fender has also served the United States Federal Courts as the government’s expert forensic evaluator for local and international cases involving domestic violence, sexual abuse, child abuse/neglect, and parental capacity. 

Honorable H. Lee Chitwood, Judge,

Pulaski County J&DR Court

The Honorable H. Lee Chitwood graduated from the University of Virginia in 1983 and graduated from the University of Richmond School of Law in 1986. Judge Chitwood practiced law in Wytheville for 13 years, and he was a substitute judge for two years in the 27th Judicial District. He has been a full-time Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Judge since 1999.  He has served multiple terms as Chief Juvenile Judge of the 27th Judicial District.
Judge Chitwood chairs the Pulaski County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Best Practices Team, the Pulaski County Truancy Committee, and the Pulaski County Coordinated Community Response Team.  He currently serves on the Judicial Performance Evaluation Advisory Committee, the Judges Schools and Courts Committee, the CIP Advisory Committee, the Judicial Needs Assessment Committee, the Advisory Workgroup for CAC Standards for Parent/Guardian Counsel in Dependency Cases, the Advisory Committee for Judicial Mentoring Program for New Judges, and the Advisory Committee on Domestic Violence Issues in Virginia’s Courts.  He is serving a second term as a mentor for new judges under Virginia’s Judicial Mentoring Program. He has also been a Best Practices Judge for foster care matters since 2003.  Judge Chitwood was in the inaugural class of Peer-to-Peer Coaches appointed by the Supreme Court in 2022. Judge Chitwood is serving a three-year term on the Board of Directors of NCJFCJ, with assignments to the Membership Committee, the Family Violence and Domestic Relations Advisory Committee, the Diversity Committee, and the Finance Committee. He is a member of the NCJFCJ Judicial Responses to Animal Cruelty Work Group.  He was in the inaugural class for the Judicial Engagement Network (JEN) Fellowship Program in 2019.   OVW named the Pulaski J&DR Court as one of four nationwide domestic violence mentor courts in 2020. In 2024, the Pulaski JDR Court became one of six national domestic violence mentor courts. The Pulaski County JDR Court DV Rural Courts Resource Guide is posted on the intranet page of the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Virginia Supreme Court.