Maybe you have always known you wanted to be a parent. Perhaps the maternal/paternal feelings didn’t come until later in your life. There are those who have actively sought out parenthood. Or maybe the transition came without warning. However the journey unfolds, parenthood is an exciting time. Many claim that the day of their child’s birth is the best day of their lives. But unfortunately, things don’t always go according to plan. There are chances of miscarriages, infertility, and loss of child. With those tragic experiences come feelings of sadness, anger, grief, guilt, and shame. How do people get through these horrible tragedies? In today’s post, we want to talk about coping with reproductive issues. And share our own stories of our therapists helping patients through this distressing time.

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Hello, my name is Amber Chapman, MA, LPC, CAADC, and I have been a practicing therapist for over 17 years.  Couples therapy in the form of Couples and marriage counseling is a high priority for me as I believe we all deserve to have healthy, trustworthy, loving relationships that increase our individual strengths.  All relationships have challenges that arise, however we sometimes are without the coping skills necessary to meet those challenges in a healthy manner.  It can be an even more daunting task to develop these coping skills within the community with diverse needs such as the LBGT community.  Though it is typical for LBGT couples to seek therapy for the exact same reasons as a heterosexual couple, it is important to find a therapist who is LBGT specialized to create an appropriately trustworthy therapeutic relationship.

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Emotional Abuse

“The scars from mental cruelty can be as deep and long-lasting as wounds from punches or slaps but are often not as obvious. In fact, even among women who have experienced violence from a partner, half or more report that the man’s emotional abuse is what is causing them the greatest harm.” ― Lundy Bancroft

Abuse in the dating world is defined as “a pattern of coercive behavior in which one person attempts to control another through threats or actual use of physical violence, sexual assault, and verbal or psychological abuse. These acts may include physical, sexual, verbal, mental or emotional abuse.” (Source: Safe Voices)

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