“I have asked him time and time again, not to take a picture of me in my bathing suit. He just won’t listen. I finally said to him, ‘You need to stop. I have established a clear and reasonable boundary regarding this topic many times. I don’t like to be photographed in my bathing suit…
The Power and Control Wheel image is a helpful tool that therapists, first responders, faith-based organizations, family and friends can use to help uncover when abuse is present. It paints a picture of the most common ways overt and covert abuse manifest through Intimate Partner Violence. If you ever interface with victims of abuse, understanding…
We at The M3ND Project have identified a recurring and profoundly devastating theme in the lives of those who have experienced harm from all forms of Original Abuse. All too often, when they courageously choose to disclose their abuse experiences and reach out for help, rather than being believed, victims are criticized, judged, interrogated, given…
One of the most difficult parts of learning about abuse is facing the reality that it might be impacting your own relationship or the life of someone you love. Education is the first step toward gaining the clarity required to recognize abuse and to empower victims or encourage others to share their stories. Clarity is…
Does your partner frequently make promises to change something when you confront them about it, but they never actually follow through? Is there a confusing inconsistency in your relationship that feels ongoing but is difficult to describe and happens so often that it’s hard to remember specific instances? Or, perhaps you find yourself in a…
It’s often said that “clarifying the issues” is key to resolving healthy conflict. If mature, communication is critical to a good relationship, then constantly confusing conversations without resolve is the catalyst to an unhealthy one. When a person regularly uses stonewalling to avoid authentic communication, it often causes confusion and obstructs meaningful communication and connection.…
Choosing to seek couple’s counseling once the abuser has thoroughly worked through their issues is one of the most challenging and courageous things you can do for your relationship while you consider reconciling. Couple’s counseling with an expert therapist that confronts abuse and its dynamics and the occasional setbacks and successes can be extremely beneficial…
For couples experiencing relationship issues that they can’t seem to solve on their own, seeking marital counseling is often the expected next step to take. However, while couple’s counseling has been proven to do great, transformative work among many, it is not the solution to every relational problem. Here’s what you need to consider when…
Last week on the blog, we described ways in which some individuals spiritually abuse their partners. But spiritual abuse is not simply an issue between couples— institutional spiritual abuse can occur within any faith-based or religious organization. It can happen at the hands of leaders of organizations or within their congregation between members of community…
Religious and spiritual leaders when well trained can offer valuable support to victims. Spiritual leaders and authority figures can also inadvertently or intentionally wield spiritual abuse. We are going to talk about institutional spiritual abuse in our next blog. This week however we will address how spiritual abuse can also occur in relationships as a…