Abuse is a term that refers to the mistreatment, harm, or infliction of injury on someone, either through physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, or other means. Abuse can occur in various contexts, including relationships, families, institutions, and broader social settings. It is a serious violation of an individual’s rights and can have profound and lasting effects on their physical, emotional, and psychological well-being.
The assessment process can reveal the extent of long-term abuse, which may have become normalized for survivors. This realization can lead to feelings of grief, anger, and self-doubt, especially if family members minimize or deny the abuse. Therapy is essential to help survivors integrate their experiences, rebuild their identity, and restore agency.… Read More When normalisation begins to break down
Abuse within an intimate relationship is rarely confined to a single behaviour. While public discussions often focus on physical violence, clinical understanding recognises that interpersonal abuse can occur across multiple domains simultaneously, including psychological, verbal, physical, sexual and financial abuse. When several forms of abuse coexist and interact, this can be described as multidimensional or multidomain… Read More Multidimensional Abuse: When Abuse Takes More Than One Form
An exploration of coercive control, psychological trauma, survival and the devastating consequences of having your autonomy taken away. Trauma & Emotional Abuse | Neuroscience & Emotional Regulation | Relationships & Recovery Dorothy Vallens, the lounge singer played by Isabella Rossellini in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, is one of cinema’s haunting portrayals of a woman trapped in… Read More Dorothy Vallens in Blue Velvet: When Violence, Control and Fear Become Entangled with Desire
Sometimes the person experiencing abuse eventually reaches out When you have lived for years feeling that there is no way out, there may come a point when you finally confide in someone close to your partner. You may not even be asking them to confront the person. You may simply be hoping for one thing:… Read More When You Finally Ask the Family for Help: The Psychology of Silence, Denial and Cover-Up Around Abuse
There is a difference between having a past and having a pattern. Everyone comes into a new relationship with history. Previous relationships, mistakes, regrets, disappointments and difficult experiences are part of being human. But what happens when someone’s history includes violence and abuse across two marriages spanning decades? What if there have been convictions for physical violence?… Read More When the Past Is a Pattern: Should a New Partner Be Told About a History of Violence and Abuse?
Cruelty can be abuse, but cruelty and abuse are not interchangeable terms. A useful way to understand the progression is: Cruelty describes harmful treatment.Abuse describes a broader pattern of harmful, controlling, exploitative or coercive behaviour. When cruelty becomes repeated, deliberate and part of a pattern that causes physical, emotional, psychological or financial harm, it can properly… Read More When Cruelty Crosses The Line
When a person is prepared to physically injure you to stop you from seeing the truth, this is not anger.
This is not emotional reactivity.… Read More This Wasn’t Love, It Was Captivity: Understanding Coercive Control
Understanding How Control Progresses Into Danger
Coercive control rarely begins with overt violence. It follows predictable psychological and behavioural stages, escalating gradually as dominance increases and resistance threatens the controller’s power.… Read More Recognising Coercive Control: From Subtle Control to Lethal Risk
Understanding the Different Forms of Abuse — and the Signs to Look For
Abuse is not always obvious.
It isn’t always physical, and it doesn’t always leave visible injuries. Abuse can involve patterns of behaviour designed to control, intimidate, manipulate, isolate, humiliate or undermine another person.
A person may also experience more than one type of abuse at the same time.
Recognising the signs can be an important first step towards understanding what is happening.
Important: The presence of one indicator on its own should not be taken as proof that abuse is occurring. However, it may indicate that further assessment is needed. The examples below are not exhaustive, and individual circumstances should always be considered.… Read More Types and Indicators of Abuse
Abuse often starts subtly, with minor behaviors that can escalate into harmful patterns impacting safety and mental health. Rooted in power and control rather than anger, it can manifest as emotional harm, intimidation, and physical aggression. Recognizing these patterns is crucial to prioritizing one’s wellbeing and fostering safe relationships.… Read More When Love Feels Unsafe: Recognising the Hidden Patterns of Abuse
