Our therapists offer domestic violence therapy in Media, PA

My go-to approach for helping survivors of domestic violence who come to therapy is a person-centered approach. I find it important to treat a client with empathy, genuineness, and understanding, at their own pace, as domestic violence and the levels of emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse inflicted by the perpetrator can be incredibly shaming and scary for a survivor to confront.

I provide several tools related to psychoeducation in domestic violence therapy, including:

• The Power and Control Wheel: a depiction of the different kinds of abuse that can be inflicted on a survivor, including emotional, financial, isolation, physical, etc. This graph discusses how the main reasoning behind DV is for the abuser to gain power and control over the survivor.
• The Cycle of Violence: a description of how abuse cycles through the Honeymoon Phase, the Tension Building Phase, and the Acute Explosion Phase.
• The Equality Wheel: similar to the Power and Control Wheel, but shows all the behaviors that should be present in a healthy relationship.
• Documents from the National DV Hotline that answer questions such as: Why Don't You Just Leave?, What are Trauma Bonds?, How Does Alcohol and Drug Use Affect DV?, What is Consent?, and How Do I Make a Report?
• Different types of boundaries and how to begin to set them
• Trauma effects and responses from DV and abuse
• If a client is still in an abusive relationship, I will help them complete the VIGOR (Victim Inventory of Goals, Options, and Risks): A detailed safety plan to help survivors examine the risks involved of staying in the relationship, the available resources they have within themselves and in the community, and the actual options they have to utilize if they should decide to leave.

I know a client is making meaningful progress in DV therapy when they begin to recognize that the abuse was/is not their fault. When they begin to understand that the abuse occurred/is occurring because the perpetrator is seeking power and control, not because the survivor has done anything wrong to welcome the abuse.

Clients can supplement their time in DV therapy with continued psychoeducation and exercises about the effects of DV. They can also engage in advocacy from DV agencies in their community, which can help with legal proceedings or speaking to the police, as well as just getting extra support. Additionally, group work can be effective for DV survivors, as they can feel supported and understood by others who have gone through similar situations.

To prepare for their first domestic violence counseling session, and individual can try to remember that while it will be difficult and emotional, the therapist is there to be judgment-free and to empower the client to regain a positive sense of self and emotional and/or physical safety. The therapist is there to support you, no matter what.