As you can see, my sister and I were properly attired to resist sandstorms for our camel ride. Twenty-four hours of travel back to Merica...

Do not allow anxiety to interfere with gaining the support you need. The following gives guidance in how to tell someone about abuse. It also bolsters you in not taking personally anyone’s lack of support or disbelief if that occurs.   

Time Out and Broken Record are the last two conflict management skills. As with any assertive skill, assess your safety if someone has a history of being abusive.

Recovery together or apart requires accountability, ability to look at one's self, a willingness to let go and forgive if staying together, or a willingness to rebuild trust in yourself and others if the relationship doesn't continue.

Betrayal Trauma is a phenomenon that occurs when there is a violation of trust by someone whom we depend on for survival or to whom we are significantly attached.

Here are some questions whose answers offer clues about whether you are dealing with someone who is emotionally abusive. Proceed with caution and talk about it if you don’t like what you see.

Divorce is never easy, and that is especially true for intimate partner abuse survivors. My last blog, Considering Divorce, was a walk-through of the process. During my interview with Holly Slota, attorney at Pines Bach LLP in Madison WI, I asked what issues make it more difficult for survivors. This blog combines her responses with guidance on how to handle each issue.

Survivors, as well as those who work with them, will find my interview with Attorney Holly Slota from Pines Bach LLP in Madison, Wisconsin, informative. Those who contemplate leaving often feel fear about the unknown legal system, making an already complicated decision more difficult. Abusers often tell their partners information that is inaccurate because they want to manipulate or frighten them.

I structured my book, Coercive Relationships: Find the Answers You Seek, around issues and questions I frequently hear from survivors and often from those who work with them.

Consent is much discussed today, a very good thing. Learning that everyone has the right to determine sexual contact is healthier for...

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is not just an adult thing. It's common among teens. The Center for Disease Control indicates that 7...

June is LGBTQ Pride Month. The growing acceptance of all sexual preferences and acknowledgement that gender is not binary is something to...

I'm back! It's been a long time since I've blogged because I took time off to complete a book on controlling relationships. My tentative...

"A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying in other words that he is wiser today than he...

Is she a bitch or a leader? Is he a wuss or a sensitive man? Both these questions help us become more aware of underlying biases and...

Controlling behavior is the systematic domination and oppression by one person in a way that makes it clear that another person(s)  is...

There are two kinds of fear . One is the realistic fear that we experience when we're in danger. This is rational and self-preservative...

How fear plays into our internal predators is complicated. Looking at the seductive aspect of fear is not meant to deny the reality of...

The billboard “LOVE” is a huge draw for us. Romantic love is idealized and romanticized from the time we are young. The portrayal of...

The need for “ Connection” is one of the signs that draw us into any relationship, whether intimate, work related, friendship, or...