1 in 3 people are victims of emotional abuse
Among Christians, the first place most couples go for help when their marriage is in crisis is a pastor. Unfortunately, few couples receive the care they truly need to confront and address the harm caused by emotional abuse.
There are two main reasons the church has not been a safe harbor for victims of emotional abuse:
- The real issue was overlooked. Emotional abuse is often covert, and the signs are hard to spot.
- Few pastors, and even professional counselors, are trained to offer appropriate help to victims of emotional abuse.
The result is secondary harm to the victim: more confusion, despair and even a loss of their faith in God.
Bring Hope & Healing to Victims & Perpetrators of Emotional Abuse
Part One: Identifying Emotional Abuse
In Part One, we will help you to better understand what emotional abuse is, how it presents itself in the context of marriage, and how to watch for signs of power and control dynamics – a key marker of emotional abuse. You will learn how to decipher what is really going on underneath the surface, and how use of language can reveal much more than the words themselves.
Part Two: Avoiding Secondary Abuse
In Part Two, we go over, step by step, what we are doing at the Marriage Recovery Center to bring hope and healing to marriages struggling from emotional abuse. You will learn how to utilize these same approaches to bring clarity and safety to an otherwise chaotic and destructive situation. We will talk about ways to jumpstart the healing process, including use of boundaries and intervention, as well as the real dangers of secondary abuse.
Part Three: Become Their Hero
In Part Three, we talk about keeping God in view as we develop a path through common issues of spirituality, sex, separation, forgiveness, and reconciliation. We look at what successful follow-up care looks like, and how we can partner with you to provide continuity of care to help couples in their journey of intentional steps toward connection.
