Tell Me How You Feel

Domestic violence requires the help of a number of services to eliminate it, not the least of which is counseling. Other necessary services may include intervention, shelter and law enforcement. Counseling is necessary to end the cycle of domestic violence because it is psychological as much as it is physical. Everyone is aware of the physical effects of domestic violence – the bruises, cuts and other injuries that are inflicted, but many people do not understand the severe psychological injuries that accompany domestic violence. Both types of abuse are seriously detrimental and warrant counseling.

The physical side of domestic violence is well observed and obvious. A large majority of domestic violence cases are men inflicting violence upon women they are in romantic relationships with, but domestic violence can also be between various family members and can even involve women inflicting violence upon men they are in romantic relationships with. Typically, the violence is observed by family members, friends and neighbors because signs of the violence are visible or audible. Obviously, it is urgent that the domestic violence victim receive counseling to help them leave the situation before any more physical harm can be done to them. It is not uncommon for domestic violence victims to be killed by their abuser.

The psychological side of domestic violence, however, is not as easy to detect but it plays a huge role in the damage done to a person. Domestic violence creates a fearful environment for the victim. The abuser is aware of this and uses the fear they instill in their victim to control them. The victim begins to feel very small, powerless and insignificant, as well as afraid to assert themselves in anyway. This psychological torture that domestic violence puts a person through leaves a scarring mental impact. It can take a great deal of counseling to restore a domestic violence victim’s sense of self worth. Counseling is very important in this situation to prevent a domestic violence victim from becoming a victim again.

The importance of counseling for traumatic events cannot be overstated. Trauma is something that can rearrange a person’s entire psyche if they do not process it properly. Trauma commonly comes in the form of witnessing death or being subjected to violence, but trauma can have many faces. It is also relative to each person. What is traumatic for one person may not be traumatic for another. Regardless of the type of trauma, it is very important that anyone who goes through trauma receives counseling to properly process their ordeal and cope with it in a healthy manner.

When trauma occurs, a person who does not receive counseling or fully adequate support will not be totally healthy from that point on. Trauma effects everyone in a slightly different manner, but there are some things about the effects of trauma that are consistent and predictable. A traumatic event becomes a memory burned into a person’s brain. It replays over and over in vivid detail, making the individual relive it repeatedly. Everyone plagued by trauma claims this experience and expresses a longing to make the memory stop replaying in their mind. Many traumatized people develop anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder or depression in response to their trauma. Sadly, many struggle with defeating this hardship without proper trauma counseling.

A person who does receive counseling or fully adequate support after trauma takes place, on the other hand, will have a much different long term response to the traumatic incident. They may initially experience the same things as someone who does not receive counseling because it is a natural part of processing trauma, but they will move on from these effects naturally with the help of a professional counselor. No one is naturally equipped to bounce back from trauma effortlessly. A mental health professional can walk a person through their trauma, back to a place where they feel safe and secure in their world again.