When Ethics Meets Danger: Navigating Mandated Reporting with DV Survivors

Therapists working with DV Survivors /

What do you do when doing the right thing might put your client at risk? Dear Colleague, Mandated reporting is a legal duty. But for survivors of domestic violence, it can feel like a betrayal. We must walk a careful line, honoring our ethical and professional responsibilities while holding deep awareness of the real-world consequences […]

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domestic violence survivors abusive relationships

Summer Mental Health Support for Survivors

Therapists working with DV Survivors /

Summer Mental Health Support for Survivors Summer can bring sunshine, but it also brings risk for many survivors. Dear Colleague, Summer Custody and Co-Parenting Conflicts Custody arrangements often change during the summer months. These transitions can open the door to manipulation, emotional threats, and increased contact with abusive ex-partners. Survivors may feel trapped in patterns

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domestic violence survivors relationship abuse

Self-Compassion Techniques for Healing and Growth

Relationship Abuse /

Explore Effective Self-Compassion Techniques Today Sometimes the hardest person to be gentle with is ourselves. Dear Survivor, You give so much to others. You show up with patience, with grace, with understanding. But when it’s your own pain, your own healing, you tighten up. The self compassion you deserve often gets buried under old stories

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From Love Bombing to Bread Crumbing: How Survivors Get Hooked

Therapists working with DV Survivors /

Survivors are not naive. They are being carefully conditioned. Dear Colleague, One of the most confusing parts of emotional abuse is how intensely loving it can feel in the beginning. Survivors often describe a whirlwind. Affection, flattery, gifts, fast commitment. It is intoxicating. And it is strategic. This is love bombing, and it is not

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Every Choice Is a Step: Honoring Survivor Decision-Making

Therapists working with DV Survivors /

When we release control, we make room for survivors to reclaim theirs. Dear Colleague, Survivor decisions are not always what we expect. Some stay. Some leave and return. Some say yes in session and no in real life. These moments can feel disheartening, even confusing. But they are not wrong. They are information. Every choice

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What Survivors Really Need from Their Support System

Relationship Abuse, Wellness Topics /

Love is not always enough, but understanding can be everything. Dear Survivor, A client once shared how isolating it felt after she left her abusive partner. People praised her for being brave, but when she struggled to sleep, missed her ex, or doubted her decision, they grew impatient. They told her to just move on,

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When Care Is Control: Understanding Financial Abuse in Survivors’ Lives

Therapists working with DV Survivors /

What looks like protection may actually be power and control. Financial abuse is real and, often, very covert. Dear Colleague, Financial abuse is one of the least recognized forms of control in intimate partner violence. It often hides behind the appearance of care. A partner offers to manage the bills, handle the bank account, or

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How to Recognize Coercive Control When Love Is the Bait

Relationship Abuse /

Love should never feel like walking on eggshells. It should not come with conditions and strings attached. Dear Survivor, At first, it may have looked like devotion, romance, infatuation, and even felt like love. The constant check-ins, the jealousies framed as care, the subtle sabotage, the need to be with you all the time. It

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Why Survivors Return: The Grip of Intermittent Reinforcement

Therapists working with DV Survivors /

It is not weakness. It is conditioning. And it is trauma. Dear Colleague, One of the most painful things providers witness is when a survivor returns to a harmful relationship. It can feel heartbreaking and disorienting. But what looks like regression is often part of a powerful trauma pattern called intermittent reinforcement. This pattern keeps

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