If you’re like me, when you walk into a room (or a Zoom meeting) with more than two people, your social anxiety might spike. So, when you hear the words group therapy, it might not seem appealing at first. And yet, group therapy is a widely-used therapeutic modality. So why does group therapy exist? What…

Magistrate’s Orders for Emergency Protection (E.P.O.) are often the first opportunity for a survivor of Intimate Partner Violence to receive legally enforceable protection from their abuser.  Even though an E.P.O. should not create a false sense of security for survivors, they remain a powerful tool in creating greater safety for them. These orders are intended…

Murder-suicides are a tragic, but common, occurrence in the news. Eleven murder-suicides occur in the U.S. each week. A husband shoots his wife and four children after dinner, then turns the gun on himself. A man kills his girlfriend when she gets home from work, then takes his own life. A 60-year-old man kills his…

Here at Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support, we work alongside survivors of domestic violence to help them find safety, support and healing from abuse. It is not uncommon for abusive partners to sabotage a survivor’s relationship with her friends and family, often isolating her completely. This makes the survivor more vulnerable and more dependent on…

Women are persistently at a high risk for domestic and intimate partner violence due to such factors as a male predatory behavior, twisted power and control dynamics, pervasive rape culture, revictimization by systems, and more. The YWCA reports that domestic violence is the leading cause of injury for women ages 15-44. However, for as many…

For many people, Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate romantic love. Partners might express gratitude for their special person. Couples might reminisce about how they met and fell in love. But for those whose partners yell at them, diminish them, or hurt them physically, Valentine’s Day can be a painful reminder that their relationship…

In May 2020, Genesis wrote a blog pertaining to intersectionality. Genesis has, from the very beginning, fought for the rights of all domestic violence victims regardless of race, culture, sexual orientation or economic status. Our position is that domestic violence does not discriminate. Today, I’m going to take this a step further and dive more…

What is Trauma? We are surrounded by trauma narratives everyday through social media, news, and even through family and friends. The National Council for Behavioral Health states that “70% of adults in the U.S. have experienced some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives.” This is a high number, but you may…

Here at Genesis, we talk a lot about coping skills during counseling. What are coping skills and why are they so important? Coping skills are activities or actions that a person can take to manage overwhelming emotions. We all do things to help us cope with our feelings throughout any given day, even if you’re…

Being in an abusive relationship can be confusing and scary. Most abusive relationships begin the same way as any other relationship – strong feelings of love and attraction and experiences that are fun and exciting. Over time, the abusive partner may begin to have behaviors that feel “off” to the other partner. Maybe he* begins…