Description & Objectives

Continuing Education Hours: 1.5 CEs for LPC, SW, LMFT, and Psychologists - NBCC Approved

Description:"Set better boundaries." "Communicate your needs." "Take responsibility for your part." These are some of the most common pieces of advice therapists give—and for survivors of intimate partner violence, they can be not just ineffective, but dangerous. This presentation examines why mainstream mental health advice is often designed for conflict, not abuse, and offers trauma-informed alternatives that actually build safety and agency. Participants will learn to distinguish between relationship conflict and abuse dynamics, assess when standard interventions are contraindicated, and provide support that doesn't inadvertently escalate danger or compound victim-blaming. This is essential training for anyone who works with survivors of violence against women and is committed to doing so with both compassion and clinical precision.

Learning Objectives:

  • Distinguish between relationship conflict and intimate partner abuse using power and control dynamics
  • Identify ways standard relationship advice (boundaries, communication, accountability) can harm abuse survivors
  • Learn strategies for assessing safety with clients prior to giving relationship support
  • Implement trauma-informed alternatives to mainstream conflict resolution support that center survivor agency without prescribing specific actions

Instructor

Whitney Hartzell

Whitney Hartzell, LCSW, is a trauma-focused therapist and founder of Mind on Mend, a Texas-based private practice serving clients statewide. She specializes in working with women healing from emotionally unhealthy and abusive relationship dynamics, including coercive control, gaslighting, and complex trauma. Prior to opening her practice, Whitney spent years providing therapy in the domestic violence space, supporting hundreds of women and children navigating the emotional aftermath of abuse. Before becoming a clinician, she worked at the intersection of mental health and systems change, leading policy initiatives and national awareness campaigns focused on expanding access to care. This combined clinical and macro-level experience informs her trauma-informed, relational approach and her commitment to helping clients rebuild safety, self-trust, and agency after trauma.