Counseling
Help and support to reduce the impact of abuse and improve safety
Survivors of abusive relationships can benefit from the support of trained counselors to identify and deal with their emotions and gain healthy coping tools. Since 1992, we have provided counseling in a supportive environment to improve the safety and emotional well-being of victims and their children.
Our staff works with clients to reduce the traumatic impact of past events, and to reduce exposure to violence for children. Pre- and post-counseling questionnaires help determine if we have met these goals.
Adult Counseling and Support Groups
We provide adults with brief, short-term crisis counseling. Meetings last 30 to 90 minutes and are conducted from 12 to 15 weeks in duration. Our treatment is solution-focused and incorporates a cognitive behavioral and supportive strengths perspective, along with insight and role play.
Clients can often benefit from our support groups, which enable adult victims of domestic violence to share their experiences with other victims in a group setting.
Fast Facts:
- We served 159 adults with individual counseling and 148 adults with group counseling in 2016.
- Our counseling location is accessible on a main bus route.
- Both day and evening hours are available.
- Individual and group counseling for Spanish speakers is available.
- Support Groups in various towns including Brookhaven on Thursday evenings 7:00 - 8:30pm.
Child and Teen Counseling and Support Groups
We provide group and individual counseling for children ages 4-18 who have witnessed or experienced domestic violence and/or teen dating violence.
We recognize that children who grow up in violent homes are at increased risk for self-injurious behaviors such as cutting, drug and alcohol use, and unsafe sexual activity. Our counseling program aims to break the cycle of violence by helping children to overcome obstacles in their lives and consider alternative ways of acting and expressing feelings.
Our counselors work to create a therapeutic environment so that children will feel safe and comfortable. We incorporate the use of models, puppets, stuffed animals, games and mutual storytelling to help children feel more relaxed and express their feelings in a non-threatening and age-appropriate way.
Once children have discussed their experience with domestic violence, our next goal is safety planning. Children devise their own safety plans that include where they can hide and whom they can call, including law enforcement. In providing guidance and support, we seek to empower children to break the cycle of family violence.
Fast Facts:
- We served 25 children with individual counseling and 9 children with group counseling in 2014.
- Child/teen counseling is available at our office; counselors also travel to area schools, shelters, youth bureaus and other agencies.
For more information on LIADV Counseling programs, please call: 631-666-7181, Monday-Friday, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.
