Domestic abuse counselling in Marlow provides a specialist, safety-aware space for anyone living through — or recovering from — an abusive relationship. Domestic abuse is rarely a single moment. It's the slow, deliberate undoing of someone's confidence, freedom and sense of reality. If you are living with that now, or have left and the impact is still here, you are not exaggerating, and you are not alone.
I'm Keeley Taverner, a Psychotherapist, BACP Accredited and author of Why Love Hurts. Across 14 years as a psychotherapist I've supported many people through and after domestic abuse — emotional, psychological, financial, sexual and physical. This page explains how counselling for domestic abuse and domestic abuse therapy work at my practice in Marlow and online, with the safety-aware boundaries this work needs.
What counts as domestic abuse?
Under UK law, domestic abuse is any incident, or pattern of incidents, of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading or violent behaviour between people aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members. It is not defined by what's visible from the outside. It is defined by the pattern and its effect.
Coercive control — a pattern of dominating behaviour designed to make someone dependent, isolated and frightened — has been a criminal offence in England and Wales since 2015. You do not need bruises, a diagnosis of the other person, or a police report for what you are experiencing to be domestic abuse.
Domestic abuse includes emotional and psychological abuse, financial abuse, sexual abuse within a relationship, and physical violence. Many of the clients I see have lived with several of these at once for a long time, and only recently begun to name what was happening.
Signs you might benefit from domestic abuse counselling
People I see in Marlow for therapy after domestic abuse often recognise themselves in several of these:
- You feel scared, anxious or "on edge" before your partner walks in
- You censor what you say to avoid setting them off
- They control money, time, your phone, your contact with family or friends
- They make you doubt your own memory, judgement or sanity
- You apologise reflexively, even when nothing was your fault
- They have hurt you, frightened you or forced something sexual
- You have left, and the fear, shame and self-doubt have come with you
- You suspect what you're going through is "not bad enough" to count — and want to know what's actually happening
If any of this is your daily life, please know: it is real, it is serious, and there is specialist help available — both for safety in the present and for the long process of recovery.
Domestic abuse therapy in Marlow — how it works
Domestic abuse therapy is shaped by safety first. If you are still in a relationship with an abusive partner, our work has to take account of that — including how, when and where we communicate, and what's safe to leave on a device. My approach is integrative and trauma-focused, and in practice this work usually moves through:
- Safety first — practical safeguarding, signposting to specialist domestic-abuse services (Refuge, Women's Aid, Men's Advice Line) where helpful, and agreeing how we'll work without putting you at risk.
- Making sense of the pattern — naming what's been happening, so the confusion and self-blame can start to lift.
- Processing the trauma — at a pace your nervous system can metabolise, using trauma-focused methods including EMDR where appropriate.
- Rebuilding — confidence, identity, self-trust and relationships, on your own terms.
Therapy is not an emergency service and it is not a substitute for specialist domestic-abuse support. It sits alongside it — as the long, careful work of making sense of what happened and rebuilding what came next.
Domestic abuse therapy alongside specialist services
If you are currently in danger, please contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247 (free, 24/7, confidential) or, in immediate danger, dial 999. Specialist domestic-abuse services (Refuge, Women's Aid, Men's Advice Line, Galop for LGBTQ+ people) provide safety planning, refuge, IDVAs and legal support that I am not able to offer in therapy. We can work alongside them — many clients have an IDVA and a therapist at the same time. If your trauma sits within a wider story of narcissistic abuse or a toxic relationship, that work is closely linked.
Domestic abuse counselling in Marlow & online across Buckinghamshire
I see clients in person at The Courtyard, 60 Station Road, Marlow SL7 1NX — a discreet, private space a short walk from Marlow town centre and easily reached from Bourne End, Maidenhead, High Wycombe, Henley-on-Thames and the surrounding Buckinghamshire villages. If you are searching for a domestic abuse counsellor near me in Buckinghamshire, this is a specialist practice within reach. Online counselling by secure video is available across the UK, and is often the safer option when leaving the house unobserved is difficult. Sessions are £250 and completely confidential, within the standard professional and legal limits explained on first contact.
The simplest first step is a free, no-pressure 30-minute consultation — a brief call to ask questions and see how it feels. You can use a number, email or device that feels safe for you.
Recover alongside others: the Changemakers programme
As well as one-to-one therapy, I run Changemakers (formerly Navigate Narcissism NOW) — a structured group programme for recovering from narcissistic abuse and toxic relationships. It's a chance to learn, be heard and grow alongside others who understand.
