November is the time of year we can feel the chill in the air a little more, when people make plans to be nourished, share comfort food recipes, a pastime of weatherizing the homes, and making plans for family seasonal gatherings.
We support people who are in current relationships, who return to relationships, who want to strengthen their relationship, who leave relationships, who yo-yo leave and return to their relationships, who want to flee and to those who have fled and want support on next steps.
Many of the people that reach out to DOVE do so wanting support to navigate their current relationship or supporting someone that they know, to address some of their experiences that they would prefer to wave a magic wand to wish away and reduce the harmful behaviors. Relationships often have the complexity and duality of really loving and having deep compassion for a relationship partner, while experiencing things that they prefer not to, and know they don't deserve.
We strive to provide a safe and unbiased structure that people can call confidentially and reach out to discuss aspects of their relationship anonymously and we can assist anyone with resources towards their goals of having honest communication, harm reduction and validation support.
When people are in a partnership and seeking counseling therapy (excellent! everyone deserves access to quality counselors), we highly encourage both parties to retain their own personal therapists. In this way each person can have a focused way to work on their own personal stuff.
Many people who reach out to DOVE are living with their person and cohabitation can have issues arise for all relationships sharing space in a close and proximal way (and everyone has first hand experience with the COVID lockdowns), where things can get complicated with the coping methods and skills that we utilize to navigate patterns of behaviors -- both in trying to exert the least amount of energy to thwart a conflict, as well as trying to be assertive in one's own boundaries and limits.
DOVE works on a harm-reduction method, custom tailoring our individualized support to each individual addressing their own goals, in navigating their own unique relationships.
Looking for some Movie & Series recommendations to learn more about the experiences of survivors? Consider watching these :
An extra update for the month, King County has a new 24hr regional DVHopeline that provides advocacy for after hours!
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