Domestic Abuse Therapy ~ Do You Want a Violent Road or Peaceful Path?

by Dr. Jeanne King, Ph.D.

Do you believe that you can influence interactions to become violent or non-violent? That is an empowering thought to know the choices we make impact the outcome of our experience. Oftentimes individuals in abusive relationships end up in heated arguments that become verbally and emotionally violent over an improper interpretation.

You get to choose whether or not you are going to be the insult? (Referencing an insight from a domestic abuse couple’s session). Imagine a string of words darting out from your partner’s mouth while you are in a conversation that has the potential of spiraling into fury.

In this slice of time, you have a choice. You can see the verbiage as an expression of him/her or as having to do with his/her perception of you…(which by the way is also about him/her). What are you going to choose?

He/She Thinks I Am…Or He/She Shows They Are…

More often than not our knee jerk response is to assume that what comes to us from another is about us. For example, look at Lynn and Jim having an everyday conversation.

Jim asks his wife Lynn a simple question about whether their young child Jack has homework. And Lynn clearly says, “No.” But Jim is not convinced of this…