About DVTherapists.com
Learn how DVTherapists.com helps people find trauma-informed mental health support.
About DVTherapists.com
Purpose of DVTherapists.com
DVTherapists.com is an informational directory created for people who are exploring mental-health support options related to domestic violence, intimate partner violence, and relationship-based harm. It offers a way to browse and learn about different therapists, types of support, and approaches that may feel safer or more aligned with a person’s experiences and identities.
The directory is designed to be survivor-aware and trauma-informed. Many people impacted by abuse, control, or long-term stress describe feeling unsure where to start or how to find someone who understands dynamics like power, control, coercion, or complex trauma. This site aims to make that early search a little clearer and more organized, without pressure, judgment, or expectations about what someone “should” do next.
DVTherapists.com does not provide therapy, counseling, crisis services, or legal guidance. It is an educational and listing resource only, helping people gather information so they can make their own decisions about support, at their own pace.
How the directory is organized
The profiles and content on DVTherapists.com are organized to help visitors filter and understand options in several different ways. People may explore the directory by:
- Type of support offered – such as psychotherapy, counseling, support-focused work, or coaching.
- Areas of focus – for example, domestic violence, emotional abuse, family-of-origin trauma, cultural or religious harm, LGBTQIA+ experiences, parenting after abuse, or life transitions.
- Modalities and approaches – like body-focused work, talk-based approaches, relational or attachment-focused styles, and other ways practitioners describe how they work.
- Communities and identities served – including therapists who highlight experience working with specific cultural backgrounds, genders, sexualities, neurodivergence, disability, or faith traditions.
- Languages and locations – listing languages spoken and general geographic areas, which may matter for people seeking in-person support or practitioners familiar with regional resources.
Each listing is written to be informational rather than promotional. The goal is to support clarity: what someone offers, what they focus on, and how they describe their values, so visitors can decide what feels like a possible fit to explore further.
What trauma-informed means
On this site, “trauma-informed” describes an overall orientation, not a guarantee of any particular outcome. A trauma-informed lens generally recognizes that many people carry the effects of harm, stress, and oppression, and that these experiences can shape how safe or unsafe different settings feel.
Trauma-informed practitioners often emphasize:
- Safety and choice – making space for people to move at their own pace, with options and flexibility wherever possible.
- Collaboration and voice – respecting that each person is the expert in their own life, history, and needs.
- Awareness of power – recognizing how differences in power, identity, and role can affect trust and comfort.
- Cultural humility – staying open to learning about each person’s cultural context, rather than assuming one “right” way to understand trauma or healing.
- Non-judgment – understanding that coping strategies develop in response to difficult circumstances and that there is no single “correct” way to respond to harm.
Different practitioners may describe trauma-informed work in their own words. DVTherapists.com uses this term to signal an overall sensitivity to the impact of trauma and abuse, not to label or diagnose visitors in any way.
Differences between therapy, support, coaching, and crisis lines
People looking for help may encounter many types of services. The language can feel confusing, especially after experiences of harm. Below are some broad, non-clinical distinctions that may help with understanding the options listed on this site and elsewhere.
- Therapy / psychotherapy – Usually refers to work with a licensed mental-health professional, within the laws and regulations of the place where they practice. Therapy often focuses on emotional wellbeing, coping, and patterns in relationships or behavior, and it may involve longer-term work. This site does not host or describe therapy sessions, and visiting the site does not create any therapeutic relationship.
- Counseling – Sometimes used interchangeably with therapy, and sometimes used for shorter-term or more focused emotional support in specific areas (for example, grief, family changes, or academic stress). The exact meaning can vary by region and by provider.
- Support – A broad term that can include peer spaces, survivor groups, community-based programs, advocacy, or non-clinical one-on-one conversations. Support roles may prioritize listening, validation, information, and accompaniment rather than mental-health treatment.
- Coaching – Generally future-focused and goal-oriented. Coaches may concentrate on areas like confidence, boundaries, work, transitions, or relationships. Coaching is usually not regulated in the same way as licensed mental-health professions, and it is not the same as therapy or crisis care.
- Crisis lines and hotlines – These are services someone may contact during moments of acute distress or when wanting immediate emotional support and options. Crisis lines are separate from this directory. They may be offered by local organizations, national services, or domestic-violence agencies. For people seeking information on domestic violence crisis resources, additional support organizations can sometimes be found through sites like https://www.dv.support.
Disclaimer: Not therapy, not clinical advice
DVTherapists.com is an informational directory and educational resource only. It does not provide therapy, counseling, diagnosis, treatment, or medical, legal, or other professional advice. Nothing on this site is a substitute for professional care from a qualified provider, and nothing here is meant to tell you what to do or how you “should” feel.
Viewing profiles, reading articles, or contacting practitioners through information found here does not create any therapeutic, clinical, or professional relationship with DVTherapists.com. Any relationship that may develop between a visitor and a practitioner is entirely separate from this website and is outside the responsibility or control of this directory.
The presence of a listing does not represent an endorsement, guarantee, or evaluation of any practitioner’s qualifications, approach, or suitability for any specific person. Each visitor remains responsible for deciding whether to contact someone, ask follow-up questions, or seek additional opinions as they consider their options.