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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Does counselling work when violence it involved?

35 replies

latorgator · 19/11/2014 16:52

Just that really...

OP posts:
sjovt · 19/11/2014 19:14

ps, and my x was the type that was only ever abusive and aggressive to me! so it wasn't an anger management issue. He could manage his anger towards his various incompetent (?) employees, bosses, brothers, neighbours etc...

I minimised the outbursts too. Every time it happened, I felt like it would be too dramatic to leave given that the aggression was only marginally worse or about the same as what he'd done before.

If you have a million pros and cons of leaving and staying doing laps in your head right now, I remember that feeling and it's like quick sand. No solution ever becomes clear. So please please get out of the situation NOW and then come back here and run all the confusion and desperation past us here.

Bogeyface · 19/11/2014 19:19

I only asked this as is we can sort the rows, it will stop the rest

And how will you be happy if you are treading on eggshells all the time? Not saying what you want to say or doing what you want to do for fear of starting another argument?

It wont work. Because apart from anything else, violent men will often create an argument in order to justify them hitting you. His anger, violence and hatred of you wont go away because you are being the perfect Stepford Wife, he will just find other ways to justify indulging them.

and yes, he does hate you. Men who hit women hate women.

GoatsDoRoam · 19/11/2014 19:20

"we" cannot sort violence.
Only the person who is violent can choose whether or not to act with violence.
No-one can cause another person's (violent) behaviour. A person's behaviour is their own choice and their own responsibility; no-one else's.

AnyFucker · 19/11/2014 19:22

OP, do you believe it is possible for a person to incite and invite violence upon their person ?

Would you blame a victim for getting punched, slapped, raped ?

sjovt · 19/11/2014 19:26

You say

"I'd just like to add, I only asked this as is we can sort the rows, it will stop the rest x"

The problem with that is that even if you never rowed, you'd be afraid to row. You'd have totally lost your voice in the relationship wouldn't you. So if by some miracle you got to a place where you never rowed anymore, would that be because you genuinely totally agreed on every subject all the time, or because you had adapted your behaviour to fit in around him? In other words, he would have trained you to put up and shut up.

My x didn't just walk up to me and hit me out of the blue either you know! It was like you describe. There were things I wasn't happy with, things I felt weren't fair to me (and they weren't). But whenever I said my name wasn't on the mortgage and I was vulnerable or whenever I said I wanted to work and get my own mortgage or whenever I said I wanted a joint account and not to have to justify and explain my visa bill to him, he just got angry.

He never ever heard me. He had his position. Things were set up how he wanted them and they were never going to change. No matter how many times we rowed. It took me a while to see that.

It wasn't a discussion. It was a deliberate manoeuvre on his part to frighten me in to dropping the subject(s). Occasionally when I felt so weary I couldn't challenge him on any of the issues that worried me about my future and I just plodded along with no mojo, no joy, he would cheerfully observe that we were getting on 'really well'. That down-trodden miserable jaded depressed version of me with no fight left in her, that was the me he liked the best.

Like you, our rows could not be resolved because I was so worried about my life and he was so determined not to 'give' an inch, therefore, the physical aggression came at the end of a heated row. Therefore I minimised it with self-reassurances that he was only violent because he was frustrated. But why was he frustrated by a woman that wanted to be treated with respect? Why did it frustrate him to recognise that I was vulnerable and that the relationship wasn't equal? Because, precisely because he wanted an unequal relationship, he wanted a relationship with a woman who he could disrespect.

So don't minimise the physical aggression by saying it happens only when he is frustrated! Not only should he not manifest his frustration through violence, but why is he frustrated by your 'voice'.. what is it about what you want that makes him so frustrated? I am not saying your situation must be similar to mine but is what you're asking for in these arguments so very unreasonable? Or is it that you can't make an unreasonable man show reason.

AdoraBell · 19/11/2014 19:32

How will you sort the rows?

Will you have To do what my mother did and spend 40 years looking at the floor with no contact with friends and have 6 DCs instead of the 1 you planned? Or my sister, moving out when he was at the pub because a place bécame available at a refuge?

saltnpepa · 19/11/2014 20:39

He has told you this....."If you didn't argue with me I wouldn't feel so frustrated and I wouldn't kick, slap, burn, bite, punch or rape lose my temper with you. And because you can't bear to believe that the perfect man you fell in love with is a violent pathetic man, you have decided to see what you can do to resolve the arguments, after all it takes two to tango, you must be responsible in some way, there are two sides to every story, he's never done it before etc.

The bit that you need to really hear is that he's not even saying he'll never do it again (not that you would believe that anyway right because he's said that before too) but now he is saying that you have to stop arguing with him.

I have worked in domestic violence, I have known women murdered by their husbands. Make a plan, get support, keep your exit strategy secret, and leave. If you have children you need to realise that if you choose to stay you risk them being put on the at risk register.

Leave.

forumdonkey · 19/11/2014 22:23

What everyone has put so succinctly and eloquently please read and reread them carefully.

From experience it didn't work for my exh, in fact I would go as far as to say he even justified it with 'excuses' that his councilor was delving to find 'reasons' behind his abuse and violent behaviour, much to my horror and despair. I don't believe he was completely honest about the extent of the EA or DV either. He was paying for this privately btw (I don't know if that makes a difference) and the only time I ever had dealings with her was when she phoned his mobile to find out where he was as he'd missed his appointment - I told her he'd been arrested for assaulting me and was at the police station!

OP from experience - police and divorce is the only way this will stop.

BlackeyedSusan · 19/11/2014 22:42

no. we tried . it did not work. how can you discuss something when you may get thumped at a later date for expressing a viewpoint. or discuss something that you have been thumped for expressing before.

we tried everything possible. he went on the dv course for men... still did not implememnt it though. should have left a lot sooner really. it just prolonged the agony and could have been fatal.

ring womens aid.

go to counselling on your own.

speak to your gp they may be able to refer you.

areyoureallysure · 19/11/2014 23:12

We never did joint counselling as it is not recommended. He did the perp programme and it spectacularly failed to make any difference. He doesn't believe he did wrong so there was no impetus to change.

Please listen to all the wise words. Get out. It's the only way.

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