Domestic abuse if defined as any behavior that causes harm or is meant to gain or maintain power and control over another person. Forms of abuse include:
- Physical
- Emotional
- Psychological
- Verbal
- Sexual
- Threatening behaviors that curtail and individual’s personal power and/or create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.
If you are in an abusive relationship now, you need support, guidance and safety. You may need help to make the difficult decisions that need to be made in order to get to a safe place and take care of yourself and your children, if you have any. You may feel isolated and alone. There is help available – please reach out for it. As a therapist, I will listen, provide support and give you a safe space to explore your options. I will not tell you what to do and I will not judge you if you choose to stay in your relationship. If you need help immediately, please use the following links to agencies that can help you:
Interact of Raleigh – Domestic Violence agency that offers crisis serivces.
North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence
If you were in an abusive relationship in the past and haven’t been able to heal, there is help available. Sometimes, we get so consumed by leaving a relationship, helping children to adjust and trying to find a “new normal”, we end up neglecting ourselves emotionally. After all, our abusers made us feel worthless and we believed them. We also may have told ourselves that “time heals all wounds”, but unfortunately, this is not true. In fact, the longer our wounds are left untreated, the worse they become. As a therapist, I will help you to process what happened in your relationship. I will support your healing, encourage your emotional growth and guide you to a brighter place where there is hope.
