Domestic Abuse Counseling Services

Our counselors and advocates are available to speak with you for walk-in appointments and through the 24/7 hotline to discuss your current situation. These appointments typically involve completing agency paperwork, sharing some information about your specific situation, identifying needs and an advocate provides support, safety planning and education about domestic violence. Our dedicated advocates and counselors are also able to share information about our other services and community resources to support your individualized circumstances. Hotline and walk in appointments are typically the first step in connecting to our other services.

Current walk-in hours at DAP’s main office (14 W. Second St. Media, PA 19063) are Monday – Friday 8:30am-12pm & 1pm-4pm. Please refrain from coming to the office if you are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19 or you have knowledge that you were exposed to COVID-19. Instead please reach the same services by calling our 24/7 hotline.

We provide free, confidential, short-term counseling services to support your goals related to domestic violence, trauma and healing. If you or someone you know is interested, please reach out to our 24/7 hotline for more information on this service.

Our support groups provide a safe and supportive space for you to process experiences of domestic violence through a collaborative discussion about coping/ self-care, trauma, boundaries, safety and healing. During COVID-19 this service is being held virtually via Zoom and no standing commitment is required. If you would like to discover more about the support group and if it’s a good fit for your current needs, please call our 24/7 hotline.

Financial abuse is a common component of domestic violence. This can look like your abuser preventing you from working, having access to shared finances, or taking your money. We have designed our financial empowerment program to give you the tools you need to free yourself from financial abuse.

This program covers a variety of educational topics about financial literacy such as

• financial safety planning
• financial planning
• credit/debt repair
• planning for housing, education and retirement.

This is a self-paced program with several video modules for you to view at your convenience.

If you are experiencing financial abuse and would like to enroll in this program, please call the 24/7 crisis hotline.

We offer short-term individual counseling to children and adolescents, ages 3-17, as it relates to domestic violence and teen dating violence. We offer this service on an evaluation basis. Our children’s counselor will assess with you if this service may be a good fit for you and your child.

We also offer support for you as a parent. Parents and children can be impacted in so many ways by violence in the home – your child may struggle with the different rules and limits between houses, they may feel divided loyalties, and you may be unsure how to support your children through what is happening at home. For this reason, we offer parenting support workshops, offered at different times throughout the year. These workshops are a great opportunity for you to learn more about parenting through a domestic violence situation and to connect with others experiencing similar situations.

Even if children’s programming may not be a fit for your family, the children’s counselor may still be able to support you by strategizing and discussing different parenting techniques. If you are interested, please call the hotline at 610-565-4590 to get connected.

One of the many barriers to leaving a domestic violence situation is the worry involved in potentially leaving a beloved pet behind. DAP has partnered with Providence Animal Center for a safe housing program for the cats and dogs of individuals fleeing a domestic violence situation. This is a temporary boarding program where pets may be accepted to shelter for a short-term stay (typically up to 45 days) until you get back on your feet and have secured safe housing for yourself. To get connected with this program, call the hotline at 610-565-4590 and ask about safe housing for your pet. You do not have to be a resident of our shelter to access this service – any resident of Delaware County fleeing a domestic violence situation may be eligible for this program. If you are not from Delaware County, other housing resources for pets may be found at the Animal Welfare Institute’s Safe Haven’s Mapping Project: https://safehavensforpets.org/

We offer internship placements to Master’s students in the final year of their Counseling or Social Work programs. Students will receive extensive training in Domestic Violence, crisis counseling and trauma-informed therapeutic approaches.

Core Responsibilities:

• Respond to calls on the 24/7 hotline
• Provide crisis counseling (in person and via the hotline)
• Provide ongoing counseling to survivors of domestic violence
• Complete necessary paperwork
• Participate in weekly individual supervision, and monthly group supervision
• Students may also have additional opportunities to provide PFA court accompaniment and co-facilitate support groups

Ideal candidates will:

• Be committed to providing trauma-informed services to domestic violence survivors
• Demonstrate high emotional intelligence and strong ability to navigate crisis-situations
• Possess strong interpersonal skills
• Have foundational skills in counseling, assessment and crisis management

DAP does not offer stand-alone practicum placements at this time. Any student interested in a practicum placement would be required to stay with DAP for the duration of their internship.

DAP offers two tracks for internship, an adult and children’s counseling program. The core requirements are the same for both placements; however, the children’s counseling internship includes a caseload of children/teens that have witnessed Domestic Violence in the home or experienced teen dating violence.

Interested students can send a resume and cover letter indicating their school’s requirements for a placement to: Counseling@dapdc.org subject line “GRADUATE INTERNSHIP APPLICATION.” Please indicate if you are applying for the adult or children’s internship.

Experiencing domestic violence can be a traumatic event. Whether the abuse that you experienced was verbal, physical, sexual, financial, or emotional, all forms of domestic violence can have an impact and potentially be traumatic. While not everyone who experiences a traumatic event will develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) it is not uncommon to notice changes in your emotions, behaviors and thoughts.

Emotional Changes:

• Guilt and Shame
• Sadness
• Feeling unsafe
• Anger
• Feelings of helplessness
• Numb or disconnected

Thinking Changes:

• Negative thoughts about yourself and the world
• Feeling unworthy or not good enough
• Believing that you are a burden to those around you
• “Black and White thinking” (seeing things as all good or all bad)

Behavioral changes:

• Difficulty concentrating
• Nightmares
• Flashbacks (feeling like an event is happening again)
• Fatigue
• Withdrawing from hobbies, friends, and support systems

All of these responses are normal reactions to traumatic events. If you are struggling with any of these symptoms and feel that you may benefit from support, please reach out to DAP by calling our 24/7 hotline at 610-565-4590 to learn more about our counseling services.