What is DVCC’s Mission Statement?
DVCC’s mission statement is to promote behavioral health wellness, in a culturally-appropriate manner, for anyone who has experienced domestic violence or anyone who has undergone any traumatic event.
What is the Domestic Violence Counseling Center?
The Domestic Violence Survivors’ Support Group, Inc. (doing business as Domestic Violence Counseling Center) is a non-profit organization which has a 501(C)3 IRS status and was established and founded in 1995 by Elizabeth Crawford. The purpose of the Domestic Violence Counseling Center (DVCC) is to provide behavioral health counseling and other related-services for victims of domestic violence and/or intimate partner violence. Intimate partner violence (IVP) is defined as physical, verbal, emotional, and sexual abuse occurring between two people in a close relationship such as former spouses, currents spouses and dating partners.
Why is the Domestic Violence Counseling Center Necessary?
Victims of IVP often suffer from a broad range of psychological and social injuries as a result of the violence. These injuries may persist long after the physical wounds have healed and the verbal and/or emotional abuse have stopped. Psychological injuries may continue even though the victim leaves the abusive relationship, remains in the abusive relationship, or becomes involved in another unhealthy relationship. Many victims of abuse were physically, sexually, verbally, and/or emotionally abused during their childhood. Many may have witnessed domestic violence during their childhood. This accumulated trauma has had a profound effect upon a person’s behavioral health status. For freedom from the psychological ravages of domestic abuse, DVCC provides counseling and other services to facilitate clients in their emotional healing.
If motivated to do so, domestic violence offenders can stop their violent behaviors and adopt behaviors which are more pro-social. Offenders choose to be violent. Many offenders were victims at some point in their lives, usually during their childhood, and learned incorrectly that violent behavior results in them getting their way. During their childhood, they may have witnessed violence at home and may have even been victims of physical, verbal, emotional and/or sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or another person of authority. During their adulthood, the majority of domestic violence offenders’ often interact with other people in a non-violent and respectful way. This indicates that offenders know how to conduct themselves in a socially acceptable manner when they choose to do so. The violence that they inflict upon their partner and/or children is a choice. Through counseling and other services provided at the DVCC, IVP offenders will learn to take responsibility for their violence and realize that they have options to live a healthier, non-violent lifestyle and make good choices. DVCC will facilitate domestic violence offenders in learning to stop terrorizing their partner and/or children, gain respect, opportunity, and worth.