Even when it feels like nothing is changing, survivors are doing deep, courageous work.
Dear Colleague,
It can be easy to get discouraged when survivors seem stuck. You offer safety, support, and space. Yet the client returns to the relationship, cancels sessions, or shares the same painful pattern week after week.
That does not mean you are failing. And it does not mean they are not healing.
Internal shifts are powerful. They just do not always show up on the surface.
Survivors may still be living with or connected to a harmful partner, but inside, movement is happening. They may be getting kinder to themselves. They may be challenging old messages that once kept them silent. They may be reconnecting with safe supports or simply beginning to imagine another way forward.
These are the micro moves of healing after abuse.
In trauma informed care, we understand that ambivalence is not resistance. It is part of survival. As providers, we are called to notice and affirm even the subtlest progress because those internal choices are often the very things that pave the way to reclaiming identity, safety, and autonomy.
Want to go deeper on ethical care for survivors? Join our Free Live CE: “Ethics and DV Survivors” on June 13 at 11am Central.
With appreciation for all you do,
#supportsurvivors #traumainformedcare #healingafterabuse #empowermentafterabuse #leavinganabusivepartner