Courtney's Allies

Introduction and definition Chances are you've never seen the 1938 play Gas Light , but if you have, you would know that the play is about a husband who in an attempt to drive his wife bonkers, dims the lights in their home . When the wife asks him about the lights, he denies he touched or changed the lights making her feel even more out of touch with reality. Since the lights depicted in the play were powered by gas, the term gaslighting was created . Gaslighting is  altering reality in order to cause a person to question their own feelings, instincts, and sanity . It is done very deliberately and is extremely effective in perpetuating the cycle of domestic violence. The National Domestic Violence Hotline  mentions the following as gaslighting techniques and describes them as such. withholding- refusing to listen to a partner's questions about what is being said or done countering- questioning a partner's memory about occurrences blocking/diverting- changing the sub...

Introduction One of the lesser known types of abuse is emotional abuse and that is because like financial abuse it isn't as easy to see as the bruises or scars from physical abuse. However, the tell for emotional abuse, as is the tell for all abuse is the use of control. Read on for a definition of along with the signs and signals pertaining to emotional abuse. Definition and Types of Emotional Abuse Emotional abuse is any action that is done in an effort to control the behavior of one's partner.  I scoured many articles, journals, and books for an easy to digest definition of emotional abuse that you, our readers, could share with colleagues, friends, and families. In the end I settled on the definition I found in an article written by verywellmind . The definition stated that emotional abuse occured when there was a consistent pattern of "abusive words and bullying behaviors that wear down a person's self-esteem and undermine their mental health." O...

Introduction By now we hope that our blog posts have given our readers an idea on what domestic violence is and the different forms it can take. We also hope to have conveyed how difficult it can be to leave relationships steeped in domestic violence and because we understand this, the next thing we want to discuss with you all is the a tool that can keep those experiencing domestic violence safe during, while leaving, and after leaving a domestic abuse relationship- the safety plan. What is a Safety Plan? Simply put, a safety plan is a tool tailored to an individual that can help a person stay safe. Safety plans provide safety in a relationship, can help a person prepare to leave an abusive relationship, and can provide support after a relationship has ended. Examples of Safety Plans There are different types of safety plans for different types of situations. There are plans that provide safety to those living with an abusive partner, safety plans for people with children, s...