domestic violence

Domestic violence (DV), also called intimate partner violence (IPV), is a pattern of abusive behavior used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another. In therapy, it is understood as coercive control rather than isolated incidents of conflict.

It can include physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, financial, digital, and spiritual abuse, often escalating over time and interwoven with cycles of tension, explosion, and reconciliation. Survivors frequently carry trauma, shame, self-doubt, and nervous-system dysregulation long after leaving. Clinical work centers safety planning, trauma-informed care, rebuilding autonomy and self-trust, and recognizing the distinction between harmful relationship dynamics and abusive power-over systems.