Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Part 2

Survivors of sexual and domestic violence face a number of challenges in accessing services, but their choice to reach out is often viewed as a personal decision. The question of “Why can’t a victim of sexual and domestic abuse just leave their partner?” can be more complex than we think. Over the course of this year’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we will be posting weekly blogs about the barriers survivors face when leaving dangerous situations, and how to be an ally to survivors in seeking help.

Children Witnessing Domestic Violence

According to a study conducted by the U.S. Justice Department, 1 in 15 children have been exposed to domestic violence between parents or a parent and their intimate partner. Exposure to violence as a child can be a risk factor for adverse effects on mental and physical health, poor educational outcomes, and, eventually, perpetration of violence as an adult.

Domestic violence in the home can be a traumatic experience for children of all ages, but particularly during the early stages of development. As discussed in last week’s blog, when someone is experiencing a violent or otherwise upsetting event, the brain has an automatic reaction of releasing hormones meant to protect the brain and body from physical pain. In a child’s developing brain, this survival response becomes embedded, regardless of whether or not the child is truly in danger. A child’s perception of traumatic events impacts the development of healthy neurological pathways for responding to stress, and hinders their ability to develop healthy coping skills. The impact of this type trauma on the brain can actually cause greater impact among infants and toddlers than older children due to their stage of development.

However, although the research shows the adverse effects of children witnessing violence, concerns for the well-being of their children are often cited by survivors of domestic violence as a reason for not leaving their abusers. This can be for a wide variety of reasons, including, concerns that they will lose custody of their children or that they will be removed from their legal guardianship if they report violence in the home, not wanting children to have to change schools or neighborhoods, wanting their children to have a relationship with both parents, and, in some cases, threats by the abuser to harm or kill the children if they try to leave.

While the experience of living in a home in which domestic violence is occuring can be traumatic for children, leaving the living situation can also cause a great deal of stress. They may be leaving a home they’ve lived in their entire life, and are often forced to leave all of their belongings behind, an emotional experience even under safe circumstances. At Hanover Safe Place, we value the relationships between children and parents, and recognize the impact of domestic violence on children’s development. Emily, our Children’s Services Coordinator, states, “Children’s services are important because the parent is going through their own crisis, and may not recognize the impact it has on their children. Providing support and resources to the families gives them the space to cope and heal together.”

References and Additional Resources

 

• • The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.
  • First Impressions: Exposure to Violence and a Child’s Developing Brain video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brVOYtNMmKk
  • The National Child Traumatic Stress Institute: https://www.nctsn.org/

 

• U.S. Department of Justice (2011). Children’s Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence and Other Family Violence

 

Abby Picard is an intern at Hanover Safe Place and a graduate student in the Master’s of Social Work program at Virginia Commonwealth University.

 

Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Part 1

Survivors of sexual and domestic violence face a number of challenges in accessing services, but their choice to reach out is often viewed as a personal decision. The question of “Why can’t a victim of sexual and domestic abuse just leave their partner?” can be more complex than we think. Over the course of this year’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we will be posting weekly blogs about the barriers survivors face when leaving dangerous situations, and how to be an ally to survivors in seeking help.

 

Trauma and the Brain

One of the biggest misconceptions about domestic violence is that the most common form of abuse is physical harm. Research shows, however, that perpetrators of abuse specifically target emotional and mental health of their partners as a means of power and control. The field of trauma studies can give insight into the ways in which physical, mental, and emotional abuse can have long lasting impacts on a survivor’s health.

Trauma is the combination of the experience of an adverse event or series of events and the perception of that experience by an individual. A trauma reaction refers to all of the processes in the brain and body that take place when an individual is exposed to a stressful event and the emotional response that follows. The brain responds to situations of high stress by going into “survival mode,” with the goal of survival above all else, sometimes called “fight or flight.” The parts of the brain that control rational thought are taken over by the “emotional brain” and the body is flooded with hormones to protect the brain and body from pain.

However, what many people do not know about the body is that “fight or flight” are not the only reactions people can have to a traumatic event. The third response we discuss is “freeze,” in which a person experiencing violence may be unable to move or speak. This can be confusing for survivors of sexual and domestic violence and lead to self-blame and guilt for not “fighting back” or trying to run away from their attacker or abuser. It is important to tell survivors that this reaction is not their fault; their “emotional brain” has taken over their logical thought.

For someone experiencing domestic violence, potentially traumatic events are occurring and reoccurring over an extended period of time. This can lead to the brain getting “stuck” in this heightened state of fear and anxiety, which can have a significant toll on the brain and body.  The release of stress hormones into the body becomes constant, keeping the brain in a perpetual state of fear. This experience and the resulting after-effects are sometimes referred to as “complex trauma.”

The healing process for survivors incorporates learning and relearning how to regulate their emotions after they have left the relationship or traumatic experience, but continue to experience the trauma response.

Trauma informed care is a method of practice that recognizes the impact of complex trauma on an individual, and the recognition that the individual’s thoughts and behaviors are impacted by the traumas the individual has experienced. At Hanover Safe Place, we value the use of trauma informed care in all facets of the work we do. Our direct services to address trauma experienced by survivors include individual therapy, support groups, and trauma informed yoga practice.

COUNSELING WITH JESSICA:

“Counseling services support survivors in connecting with and integrating both their emotional and physiological responses to their trauma(s), regaining a sense of safety and stability, re-establishing social connections and connection with self, finding meaning, and fostering empowerment and resiliency in a safe and healing environment. This is facilitated through interventions that are client centered, holistic, and trauma informed.”

YOGA WITH MORGAN:

“Trauma is a disconnect from the present moment,” states Morgan, the trauma informed yoga instructor for Hanover Safe Place, “Yoga is a way to help someone integrate their experience and find connection in the present moment.” Morgan explained that the use of yoga with survivors of sexual and domestic violence allows them to regain control and become aware of their own body and find a balance between the “effort and ease” in regulating their emotions.

References and Additional Resources

Trauma and the Brain video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-tcKYx24aA

• Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman M.D.
• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.
• Treating the Trauma Survivor by Cassie Clark, Catherine C. Classen, Anne Fourt, and Maithili Shetty
• “When Stress Constitutes Trauma and Trauma Constitutes Crisis: The Stress-Trauma-Crisis Continuum” by Catherine N. Dulmus and Carolyn Hilarski

 

Abby Picard is an intern at Hanover Safe Place and a graduate student in the Master’s of Social Work program at Virginia Commonwealth University.