Breaking free from Domestic Violence and Abuse

Michelle felt totally stuck in a relationship with someone who was controlling her. She was experiencing domestic violence and abuse, and had felt pressured into giving up work and friends to be with her partner, becoming isolated from anyone who might support her. We were able to support Michelle through counselling sessions where we explored her relationship both with her partner and with herself. Her feelings of self-worth were low and her partner had been gas-lighting her, making her unsure of her own feelings and if they were justified or appropriate. Her confidence and self-esteem were badly impacted, and she didn’t know what steps to take to regain these, or where to start to change things and turn things around.

Over the course of the sessions, she was able to safely express how she felt and gain perspective and clarity about how her relationship was affecting her. She was able to identify her choices and think these through with a non-judgmental listener. We looked at emotion cards as part of this process, and she said, if we had looked at this last year every emotion would have been dark and black. By the end of counselling sessions, she was choosing light cards with hope and future pictures in them, and she had a clear plan for her future. She has secured a job for herself and has decided to leave her partner and is getting a flat. She no longer feels that she has to stay with her abusive partner. She knows what road she wants to take and above all feels in control of destiny.